Imported labour | Two-tier system targets catering for now — Labour chief: high unemployment reflects structural change, not imported workers | Sing Tao
Catering has long faced manpower strain. From today (16th), new measures under the Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme (ESLS) take effect, tightening the imported-worker ratio for restaurants from 2:1 to 3:1. Labour Department Commissioner Tak-sum Hui said catering's elevated unemployment is not imported workers "stealing jobs" but structural change as the industry transforms.
Structural change drives the manpower mismatch
The new measures formally take effect today. Of greatest concern to the catering trade is the tiered approval mechanism for restaurants: under the new rules, the ratio of local full-time employees to imported workers in kitchen production and front-of-house departments tightens from the current 2:1 to 3:1.
On the industry's elevated unemployment, Commissioner Hui explained on a radio programme that the situation is not caused by imported workers — the root cause is structural change: workers released by restaurant closures do not match the skill demands of newly opened establishments. New restaurants are generally smaller, with simpler kitchen structures, requiring different skills from the old-style "master chefs", which makes recruitment difficult for them.
Asked why the ratio targets catering specifically, Hui said the previous calculation used the "junior cook" post on a 2:1 headcount basis; the new basis is the whole kitchen at 3:1. While the new mechanism tightens some things, it also gives operators greater flexibility in staffing.
On suggestions that some employers use "fake recruitment" to deliberately lowball wages and deter local applicants, manufacturing an illusion of hiring difficulty, Hui stressed that the ESLS has run for over two years and is now mature. Throughout the recruitment process the authorities can observe whether employers are sincerely recruiting locally; if employers fabricate situations or deceive the government, the relevant laws will follow up.
Source: https://www.stheadline.com/tv/tv-news/3583620/