Imported labour job list: 26 categories opened up — clerks, waiters, delivery workers and more
Latest imported-labour news! Chief Executive John Lee said the government plans limited importation of outside workers to address shortages across multiple industries and trades. The transport-sector scheme opens for applications on the 17th of this month. The government will also optimise the existing Supplementary Labour Scheme, suspending for two years the rule that 26 job categories and non-skilled/low-skilled positions are generally barred from importation.
Latest developments
The transport-sector labour importation scheme opens next Monday (the 17th). Quota caps are 6,300 for aviation and 1,700 for public minibuses and coaches. Applications close on 30 July, with vetting expected to take as little as 1–2 months.
Transport and Logistics Secretary Lam Sai-hung said transport workers should start work in the fourth quarter of this year. He noted the scheme sets no age cap, leaving employers and workers to decide per actual needs.
John Lee: local employment priority
Meeting the press before the Executive Council, Lee said the premise is protecting local workers' interests. First, local employment priority — importation only for visibly short-staffed industries. Second, protecting local wages — imported workers' pay must not fall below the relevant median. Third, training and growing the local workforce remains primary; importing outside labour is supplementary and non-permanent.
Construction offers 12,000 places
Development Bureau chief Bernadette Linn noted that per the CIC's February 2019 projection, the shortfall of skilled, semi-skilled workers and technicians would reach 40,000 over 5 years; the special construction scheme offers 12,000 places.
Michael Wong said the government would model the residential-care importation scheme for transport and construction, and optimise the Supplementary Labour Scheme for other industries — the local-first principle unchanged. Only after active local training still leaves shortages would limited importation be considered. Both sectoral schemes have no time limit, but are non-permanent and conditional on circumstances.
Aviation cap: 6,300
Application forms for aviation, public minibus and coach sectors are on the Transport and Logistics Bureau and Transport Department websites.
Secretary Lam said the cap totals 8,000 across the three sectors, with aviation at 6,300. The scheme's premise is protecting local workers: participating employers must pay the Airport Authority HK$400 per imported worker monthly, and the AA will contribute a comparable annual sum to subsidise local airport staff transport costs.
Greater Bay Airlines CEO Algernon Yau welcomed the special scheme. He noted Hong Kong International Airport's April passenger volume and aircraft movements were only about 48% and 60% of pre-pandemic April 2019 — with manpower shortage one factor limiting flight recovery — and believes the scheme helps Hong Kong aviation normalise quickly and consolidate its international hub status.
Minibus and coach drivers need probation before working
Lam said public minibus and coach vacancies stand at 1,980 and 1,620 respectively. Import caps: 900 public minibus drivers and 800 coach drivers. Once complete documents are submitted, vetting should take 1–2 months.
Imported drivers must have held a non-Hong Kong driving licence for at least a year, pass the public minibus or coach driving test and complete pre-employment training courses. They must also complete supervised probation before starting work.
On accommodation, Lam estimated most cross-boundary coach drivers will live on the mainland, while minibus and coach operators will arrange housing per the driver's service area.
Supplementary Labour Scheme optimisation
Labour and Welfare Secretary Chris Sun said the government will suspend for two years the rule barring importation of 26 job categories and non-skilled/low-skilled positions. The positions:
1. Sales representative 2. Salesperson 3. Waiter 4. Receptionist 5. Cashier 6. Junior cook 7. Food-processing worker 8. Clerk 9. Bank teller 10. Computer/key-punch operator 11. Telephone operator 12. Linen-room attendant 13. Laundry worker 14. Presser 15. Hairdresser 16. Storekeeper 17. Trimmer 18. Cutting worker 19. Inspector 20. Delivery worker 21. Driver 22. Demolition worker 23. Stonemason 24. Spray-painter 25. Drainage worker 26. Leak-repair worker
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[Cheung Fung Labour] has summarised industry positions with job titles and median wages for employers' reference: https://labourservices.com.hk/熱門行業職位/
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