kakase/hk_gov_press_release huggingface dataset:
Transcript of remarks by SLW on "Hong Kong Poverty Situation Report 2018" and social workers' strike
16.12.2019

Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Dr Law Chi-kwong, on "Hong Kong Poverty Situation Report 2018" and the social workers' strike after attending a radio programme this morning (December 16): Reporter: Dr Law, I've just got two questions. First of all, now that Hong Kong is expected to be in recession, how worse do you think the poverty situation will get maybe next or the year after? The second question is, tomorrow we learnt that there is going to be another three-day strike plan by the social welfare sector. What's your view on their action? Secretary for Labour and Welfare: The first part of the question in fact is really indicative of the understanding of the poverty situation that we have released a couple days ago about the situation back in 2018. The figures are very much related to "relative poverty". In fact, it's more likely to have an increase in relative poverty when the economy grows. When the economy contracts, there is always a possibility that the relative poverty actually drops. So, it is a matter of relative poverty, but whenever we talk about poverty figures, we tend to always bear in mind that we are talking about "absolute poverty" but in fact we are not. We are talking about relative poverty. As to the second question related to the welfare sector, people are calling for a strike. Technically it is very difficult to describe it as a strike in legal terms, but definitely people have the right to express their views, particularly their political views. For the Government, it is important to ensure that some of the needed services, particularly those for the disadvantaged, can be maintained and will not be affected. That is our concern. I guess particularly the social workers would abide by their basic code of practice and their action would not affect the welfare of those needy. (Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
Transcript of remarks by SLW on "Hong Kong Poverty Situation Report 2018" and unemployment rate
14.12.2019

Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Dr Law Chi-kwong, on "Hong Kong Poverty Situation Report 2018" and unemployment rate after attending a radio programme this morning (December 14): Reporter: About the poverty rate. Some critics say the Government's anti-poverty measures do not seem to be working. So you then have a decade high (rate). What do you think of that? Secondly, on the unemployment rate, do you expect to go higher? How much higher? And what will the Government do? Secretary for Labour and Welfare: If we are going to look at the government policies and its impact on poverty, we then have to look at the difference between the figures where there is no government intervention versus those figures where there is government intervention. If we take into account of the government intervention in terms of its regular or irregular type of programmes, then the number of people below the poverty line would drop to around 910 000, which is substantially lower than the figure of what is called the 1.4 million people before the government intervention. Somehow the 1.4 million people (figure) is not real in a sense because it is only a hypothetical figure if the Government has not done anything at all, but in fact the Government has different types of programmes. So that is the figure (910 000) that we should look at. Regarding the question related to unemployment, it is very difficult to predict how much the unemployment rate will increase in the coming months. According to some of those analysts in the community, the number of the rate (will range) from something around 4 per cent to 5 per cent. We sincerely hope that it will not go up that high, but it is all up to the circumstances. We heard the good news yesterday evening that the negotiation between China and the United States has reached some agreement and I hope it will have some impact on global economy and also the economy of Hong Kong, but that is all we have to wait and see. (Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
2019 Mental Health Month promotes individual mental health (with photos)
7.12.2019

The Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Dr Law Chi-kwong, today (December 7) officiated at "Enjoy Mental Wellness" ceremony, the finale of 2019 Mental Health Month (MHM), and presented prizes to the winners of MHM activities. With the theme "Enjoy Mental Wellness. Seek Support from Others", the 2019 MHM aimed to encourage the public to raise awareness on mental health starting from themselves. Addressing the ceremony, Dr Law pointed out that the Government has raised the funding for Integrated Community Centres for Mental Wellness (ICCMWs) to approximately $427 million in 2019-20, representing over three times of the resources when the service first started in October, 2010. Dr Law added that as at September this year, these ICCMWs have provided rehabilitation services for over 81 000 ex-mentally ill and needy persons, with some 24 000 public education activities held. In addition, the Government expanded the service scope of ICCMWs to secondary school students aged under 15 in 2019-20 to strengthen professional support for youths and their families. Since July this year, the Social Welfare Department has deployed five mobile vans for publicity on mental health services. Members of the Organising Committee of 2019 MHM consist of 12 non-governmental organisations providing mental health rehabilitation services in Hong Kong. The Committee organised a series of publicity and education activities in the community and on campus in the past six months, including a sharing session on rehabilitation of ex-mentally ill persons in which participants not only gained a better understanding of mentally illnesses, but also learned how to handle individual mental issues. Also officiating at the ceremony were the Chairman of the Sub-committee on Public Education on Rehabilitation of the Rehabilitation Advisory Committee, Dr Raymond Leung; the Commissioner for Rehabilitation of the Labour and Welfare Bureau (LWB), Ms Manda Chan; the Ambassador of 2019 MHM, Ms Ranya Lee; and the Chairperson of the Organising Committee, Dr Fung Cheung-tim. Organised by the LWB in collaboration with various bureaux/departments, public organisations and non-governmental organisations, the MHM echoes with the World Mental Health Day, an initiative of the World Federation for Mental Health. The public may visit the MHM Facebook page (Chinese only) for details.
Good Employer Charter 2020 to promote family-friendly employment practices (with photos)
29.11.2019

The Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Dr Law Chi-kwong, attended the Kick-off Ceremony cum Seminar of the Good Employer Charter 2020 organised by the Labour Department (LD) today (November 29). He appealed to employers of various trades and different scales to join the charter and implement family-friendly employment practices. Speaking at the kick-off ceremony, Dr Law said the charter shares the same spirit as that enshrined in the sustainability principle currently adopted by enterprises that can effectively bring about long-term, stable and harmonious employer-employee relations. He pointed out that the Good Employer Charter 2020, with a theme of promoting family-friendly employment practices, aims to encourage every employer in Hong Kong to become a "family-friendly good employer". Dr Law said, "The implementation of family-friendly employment practices can bolster employees' productivity and their sense of belonging to company, thereby reducing turnover and building a positive image for the company." Noting that the Hong Kong economy is facing uncertainties including the risk of a global economic downturn and the impact of social incidents, Dr Law encouraged companies to join hands with their employees and continue to fulfil social responsibilities during times of economic adversity. The charter is supported by seven organisations, namely the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, the Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong, the Employers' Federation of Hong Kong, the Federation of Hong Kong Industries, the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, the Hong Kong General Chamber of Small and Medium Business, and the Hong Kong Small and Medium Enterprises Association. In the ensuing seminar, a thematic talk was arranged and small and medium-sized enterprises were also invited to share their experiences in carrying out family-friendly employment practices and how to work together with employees to ride out difficult times. The Good Employer Charter was first launched in 2017 to promote employee-oriented good human resource management, show care for employees, promote a work-family or work-life balance, provide employees with benefits that are better than statutory requirements as well as establish good communication with employees or their organisations. It attracted more than 540 enterprises as signatories. The LD launches the charter again this year with a theme of promoting family-friendly employment practices. For details, please visit the website www.gec.labour.gov.hk .
SLW visits support services for carers (with photos)
26.11.2019

The Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Dr Law Chi-kwong, visited a Community Carer's Cafe co-organised by the Social Welfare Department (SWD) and the Hong Kong Federation of Women's Centres (HKFWC) this morning (November 26) to take a closer look at its support services for carers. The Under Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Caspar Tsui, also joined the visit. Since October 2018, the SWD has been collaborating with the HKFWC in setting up such Cafes in four Integrated Family Service Centres (IFSCs) in Tai Po and North District to provide carers with activities and refreshments to help them relax mentally and physically, exchange experience and gain support. Dr Law toured the Cafe situated in the Sheung Shui IFSC, where he was briefed on a carer training programme of the HKFWC. Apart from training on basic personal care for young children and the elderly, the programme also encourages participants to talk about their experience in order to relieve their own stress. The Cafe has also arranged for volunteers to look after the carers' children, elderly persons or persons with disabilities temporarily. Carers identified with counselling and welfare needs by volunteers will be referred to professional social workers for follow-up. The four Cafes have been giving support to some 440 carers so far. In view of carers' positive feedback to the operation mode of the Cafes, six other service units targeting different users in Tai Po and North District have also set up such Cafe services. Dr Law pointed out that the Government will continue to enhance support for carers. A study on carer policy has already been launched.
SLW visits pre-school rehabilitation facilities (with photos)
31.10.2019

The Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Dr Law Chi-kwong, visited Heep Hong Society Lei Yue Mun Centre this afternoon (October 31) to take a closer look at its Special Child Care Centre (SCCC) and Early Education and Training Centre (EETC) services. The Under Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Caspar Tsui, also joined the visit. Accompanied by the Chief Executive Officer of Heep Hong Society, Mr Peter Au Yeung, Dr Law toured the centre's services and facilities, including occupational therapy, physiotherapy and speech therapy as well as daily training and care services provided for children aged 2 to under 6 with moderate to severe disabilities under SCCC as well as children from birth to under the age of 6 with different levels of disabilities under EETC. He then exchanged views with the centre's staff and parents to learn more about how the pre-school to adult support services and after school support could relieve their burden of taking care of their children. The Government will increase the total number of service places for SCCCs and EETCs by about 1 200 to about 6 700 in three years from 2019-20 to 2021-22. In addition, a 20-month pilot project will be implemented at the kindergartens/kindergarten-cum-child care centres participating in the On-site Pre-school Rehabilitation Services in early 2020 to provide early intervention services for children with signs of special needs. Dr Law said that the Government is committed to strengthening support for pre-school children with special needs through early intervention rehabilitation services to better prepare them for the mainstream education in future.
LCQ20: Training courses offered as commissioned by the Employees Retraining Board
30.10.2019

Following is a question by the Hon Leung Yiu-chung and a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Dr Law Chi-kwong, in the Legislative Council today (October 30): Question: Will the Government inform this Council of (i) the number of training courses offered by each Training Body as commissioned by the Employees Retraining Board (ERB), and (ii) the amount of funding provided by ERB to each Training Body for offering such courses, in each of the financial years from 2017-2018 to 2019-2020? Reply: President, My reply to the Member's question is as follows: The number of training courses approved by Employees Retraining Board for organisation by the training bodies from 2017-18 to 2019-20 is at Annex 1. The amount of funding allocated to each training body for organising training courses in the respective years is at Annex 2.
Transcript of remarks by SLW on Policy Address initiatives and ERB "Love Upgrading Special Scheme"
25.10.2019

Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Dr Law Chi-kwong, on Policy Address initiatives and the "Love Upgrading Special Scheme" of the Employees Retraining Board (ERB) after attending a radio programme this morning (October 25): Reporter: Can I ask about the ERB retraining scheme? There are suggestions that the Government can increase the amount of subsidies, not just $4,000 a month. What is your reaction to that? Also, do we know how popular is this scheme with the citizens? Secretary for Labour and Welfare: For the ERB scheme, the maximum amount of retraining allowance per month is written in law. To change that amount, we have to provide an amendment to the Ordinance (Schedule 4 of Employees Retraining Ordinance). It would definitely take time and, in view of the present situation of the Legislative Council (LegCo), I would not expect it is possible to amend the legislation before the end of this LegCo session. Although there seems to be a point because this particular amount has remained in our law for quite a number of years, for the present moment it is not possible to do so. The other question related to the popularity of the retraining programme. The number that I saw more than a week ago already amounted to a few thousand (around 2 000), i.e. new applicants to this new scheme that the ERB has launched in early October. I see that the demand for such training, no matter it is skill-related, job-related or any skill enhancement programme &ndash; they are quite reasonably popular. Reporter: We just now heard some listeners calling into the programme and saying that they may not benefit from these general measures that the Policy Address rolled out. Are there any possible measures to increase the general support for other people that are not benefitting from these measures? Secretary for Labour and Welfare: The design of the so-called "N-nothing" programme (One-off Living Subsidy for Low-income Households Not Living in Public Housing and Not Receiving Comprehensive Social Security Assistance [CSSA]) under the Community Care Fund basically aims at those who are not receiving CSSA or not living in public rental housing. It actually covers almost everybody who are low-income. Because this type of programme is not a regular programme, we need time to prepare for launching the programme. Although we announced the intention to do so in mid-August, the earliest possible time to launch the programme is on July 1 next year. In the Policy Address, the Chief Executive also announced that we will repeat that particular programme for one more time at the end of next year, so we will be launching this "N-nothing" programme twice in the coming year. (Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
Speech by SLW at Summit on Good Health and Well-being in the World's Richest City Hong Kong (English only)
19.9.2019

Following is the speech by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Dr Law Chi-kwong, at the Summit on Good Health and Well-being in the World's Richest City Hong Kong organised by Hong Kong Shared Good Values (HKSGV) this afternoon (September 19): Dr Joseph Lee (Co-Chairperson of HKSGV and President of Wofoo Social Enterprises), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, Good afternoon. It gives me great pleasure to join you at the Hong Kong Shared Good Values Summit on Good Health and Well-being in the World's Richest City Hong Kong. Since the days when the Hong Kong Council of Social Service started to promote "Caring Companies", corporate social responsibility (CSR) has already been part of the vocabulary of doing business today. The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Ltd has already made environmental, social and governance reporting as a requirement since 2016. Yet, the discussion of creating shared value in Hong Kong was made only in recent years. In essence, CSR is not just doing CSR per se. It is important to practise strategic CSR, and a CSR strategy that links the company business with a social issue will create greater opportunity to leverage the company's resources and to benefit the society. Sharing some elements of a company's value chain in dealing with a relevant social issue will provide the best benefits to both the company and the society. Therefore, I must thank HKSGV for organising this summit. This afternoon, experts and caring citizens are coming together to explore some of our society's most pressing issues and concerns. Some of the topics to be discussed later will fall squarely in my policy portfolio. I very much look forward to your contributions and inspirations. Some of you are already very familiar with the efforts that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has made in the past to promote tripartite partnership, i.e. the Government, the private sector and the non-governmental organisation (NGO) sector. The strategy adopted by the Government is to provide financial incentives to promote better partnership between the private sector and the NGO sector in dealing with social issues. Examples are the Partnership Fund for the Disadvantaged, the Child Development Fund and the Enhancing Self-Reliance Through District Partnership Programme, commonly known in Chinese as "ä¼ä¼´å¡èªå¼·". Yet, it takes the initiatives of NGOs and their business partners to make good use of these funds. On this note, I wish the summit every success. Sharing wisdom and knowledge among the participants from the various sectors in this summit will definitely make Hong Kong a better place to live in. Thank you very much.
Transcript of remarks by SLW on measures to support enterprises and residents and labour relations
31.8.2019

Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Dr Law Chi-kwong, at a media session on measures to support enterprises and residents as well as recent labour relations after attending a radio programme this morning (August 31): Reporter: May I ask what measures will be taken to help lower the unemployment rate? My second question is: as some employees of Cathay Pacific are warned not to take part in strike action or they will be fired, do you think this is actually violating the right given to them in the Basic Law? Thank you. Secretary for Labour and Welfare: One of the important considerations in the recent economic development, particularly the threat because of the world scene in terms of possible recession coming into Hong Kong - that is why a couple of weeks ago the Financial Secretary has already announced a number of measures. Hopefully, it will be helping some of the small and medium-sized enterprises and also those who are more financially vulnerable. We are open-minded to any other possible means that we can do within the Government and to see how we can reduce the risk of increasing unemployment. So, those measures can somehow target either at the employers or the employees and hopefully we can minimise the impact on their livelihood and also the economy as a whole. As regards to questions about the Cathay Pacific cases, I would say it is not really appropriate for a government official to comment on individual companies' human resources policies, but definitely if the employees consider they are being not well-treated, they can raise their complaints and seek help from the Labour Department. Our Labour Department will try to help to mediate the differences between the employers and employees and, if needed, help the employees to seek the appropriate channels, measures or redress. Thank you. (Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)