Hong Kong to tighten labour import rules in catering sector, prioritise locals

Hong Kong authorities will strengthen protection for local workers by tightening restrictions on employers importing waiters and junior cooks, while enacting legislation to better protect delivery workers.

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu announced in his policy address on Wednesday that the government would prioritise the employment of local workers and crack down on abuse of a labour importation scheme.

The new restrictions will apply to two job categories – waiter and junior cook – under the Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme.

From Thursday, for each waiter or junior cook that an employer applies to bring in from outside the city under the scheme, it must have already employed at least two local full-time workers in the same roles.

Employers must also extend the local recruitment period to six weeks, up from four weeks, and attend an on-site job fair organised by the Labour Department once a week during that time.

“The above measures aim to combat abuse in a targeted manner, focusing on job categories with more imported workers, while ensuring businesses with genuine difficulties in local recruitment are allowed to import supplementary labour in an orderly manner to avoid business closures and collateral damage to existing employees,” Lee said.