The Minimum Wage Commission today launched an eight-week public consultation to review the statutory minimum wage rate.

The commission said it adopts an evidence-based approach in conducting the minimum wage rate review and will consider the community's views.

Views can be sent by email before June 16.

Click here for information.

Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung today visited Queen Elizabeth School to inspect the preparatory work of an examination centre for the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) Examination.

Mr Cheung was briefed on anti-epidemic precautionary measures for candidates and examination personnel before they enter the centres.

They will be required to wear masks, make health declarations, undergo temperature checks, disinfect the soles of their shoes and clean their hands with alcohol-based sanitiser.

He then visited the school hall to understand the preparation required for an examination centre, such as disinfection and widening the distance between candidates’ seats to 1.8m as much as possible.

The Chief Secretary also learnt about the arrangements for candidates during the sessional break and the use of washrooms to help ensure that social distancing is maintained.

Mr Cheung was pleased to know that the Education Bureau had earlier distributed masks to candidates and made available about 200,000 bottles of alcohol-based sanitiser for candidates at examination centres.

The bureau has also set fallback dates, should the DSE examination be halted if the epidemic situation worsens.

He thanked the bureau, relevant government departments, the Examinations & Assessment Authority, principals, teachers and school staff for the additional work they have done to protect the candidates’ health and safety.

He encouraged the some 50,000 candidates to tackle the examinations positively and optimistically and reminded them to heighten their anti-epidemic awareness and strictly follow examination arrangements.

Additionally, Mr Cheung appealed to all employers to allow their staff to follow flexible working hours to divert passenger flows on public transport during the morning peak hours between 7am and 8am, thus enabling candidates to reach examination centres on time.

The Chief Executive has reappointed Frederick Ma as Chairman of the Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) Council from April 25 to December 31, the Government announced today.

Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung thanked Mr Ma for accepting the reappointment, saying that under his leadership, EdUHK continues to focus on educational research, development and innovation and promoting and supporting the development of teacher education in Hong Kong by nurturing outstanding and committed educators and professionals.

Mr Ma cannot accept a three-year term up until 2023 due to personal reasons. In the meantime, the Government will identify a suitable candidate for the chairmanship of the EdUHK Council.

To reduce social contact in light of the COVID-19 epidemic, the Primary One Central Allocation results will be posted to parents.

Announcing the move today, the Education Bureau said it will deliver door-to-door the Primary One Registration Form with Central Allocation results to parents from June 3 to 4 through Hongkong Post’s Local CourierPost service.

If no one is present to receive the item at the time of delivery, a mail collection notification card will be left for parents to collect it from the designated post office from the afternoon of the following working day.

If parents have not received the Primary One Registration Form or the notification card by June 5, they can collect the registration form at the designated Collection Centre from June 6 to 7.

The Education Bureau will send letters to parents tomorrow to notify them of the arrangements.

Parents can get updates on the latest arrangements for the release of Central Allocation results and registration through the bureau’s press releases and messages posted on its website.

Call 2891 0088 for information on Primary One admission. For further enquiries, contact the bureau's School Places Allocation Section (Primary One Admission) on 2832 7700 or 2832 7740.

The deadline for applications under the first round of funding from the Elder Academy Development Foundation in 2020 has been extended to June 30, the Labour & Welfare Bureau announced today.

The decision aims to provide sufficient time for primary and secondary school sponsoring bodies, post-secondary institutions and organisations, which may be affected by the COVID-19 epidemic, to prepare their submissions.

The fund’s committee accepts funding applications all year round and conducts vetting and disburses funding twice a year. The deadlines were generally May 31 and October 31 respectively.

The committee will continue to monitor the situation and announce arrangements for the next round in due course.

To tie in with the Elder Academy Scheme, the fund mainly provides funding for primary and secondary schools as well as post-secondary institutions to set up academies to provide learning opportunities in a school setting for the elderly.

Funding is also provided for activities that encourage elderly learning and inter-generational harmony.

Call 3655 5861 or 3655 5007 for enquiries.

The Minimum Wage Commission will submit to the Chief Executive in Council its recommendation report on the statutory minimum wage rate by the end of October at the latest.

In accordance with the Minimum Wage Ordinance, the Chief Executive has required the commission to submit its recommendation report on or before October 31.

Pursuant to the ordinance, the commission must maintain an appropriate balance between the objectives of forestalling excessively low wages and minimising the loss of low-paid jobs as well as the need to sustain the city's economic growth and competitiveness.

The commission is conducting a public consultation on the statutory minimum wage rate review.

Views can be sent by email before June 16.

Click here for the consultation details.

The Government said it will continue to spare no effort in improving workers' benefits and protection and enhance occupational safety and health in various industries at a pace commensurate with Hong Kong's overall socio-economic development.

The Government made the statement today in response to the demands of different labour groups, noting that it would take into account both employees' interests and employers' abilities to afford the benefits, despite the severe blow dealt by the COVID-19 epidemic to the local economy.

"The seasonally adjusted unemployment and underemployment rates for January to March this year have soared to their highest levels in recent years. The labour market will continue to face significant pressure in the near term.

“The Government has rolled out relief measures of unprecedented scale, including the one-off measures in the 2020-21 Budget and two rounds of measures under the Anti-epidemic Fund (AEF) totalling $287.5 billion, with a view to preserving the vitality of the economy and relieving people's financial burden.

“The Government will launch as soon as possible the Employment Support Scheme under the second round of the AEF, with a total commitment of $81 billion, to provide time-limited financial support to employers to help them retain employees who will otherwise be made redundant.”

Moreover, the Government explained that it has earmarked $6 billion to create around 30,000 time-limited jobs in the public and private sectors in the coming two years for people with different skills and academic qualifications.

It emphasised that the Labour Department will raise the ceiling of on-the-job training allowance payable to employers under the Employment Programme for the Elderly & Middle-aged, the Youth Employment & Training Programme and the Work Orientation & Placement Scheme in the second half of this year.

It will also launch a pilot scheme to encourage eligible participants of these programmes to undergo and complete the training by offering a retention allowance.

On improvements to other labour benefits, the Government pointed out that it is working at full steam on the preparatory work to abolish the arrangement of 'offsetting' severance payments and long service payments with employers' mandatory contributions under the Mandatory Provident Fund System.

It stressed that it will strive to introduce the enabling bill into the Legislative Council by the end of this year, aiming to secure its passage by 2022.

Meanwhile, the Government introduced the Employment (Amendment) Bill 2019 into LegCo on January 8 this year. The bill, which proposes to extend statutory maternity leave by four weeks, is now being handled by the LegCo Panel on Manpower.

The Chief Executive announced on January 14 this year 10 new initiatives on improving people's livelihood, one of which is to increase progressively the number of statutory holidays so that it will be on par with that of general holidays.

The Government stated that it will work out the relevant proposal, invite the Labour Advisory Board to discuss, and will facilitate and support its work.

The Minimum Wage Commission is conducting a new round of review on the Statutory Minimum Wage rate and will submit a report on its recommendation to the Chief Executive in Council by end-October.

The Government added that it attaches great importance to employees' occupational safety and health.

It said the Labour Department has been adjusting its strategies of inspection and enforcement, publicity and promotion, education and training according to the occupational safety and health risk levels of different industries as well as taking sufficient precautionary measures to prevent accidents by driving employers and employees to work together.

The Education Bureau and the Agriculture, Fisheries & Conservation Department (AFCD) today announced their latest arrangements on public services starting May 4.

All Regional Education Offices, the Joint Office for Kindergartens & Child Care Centres, the School Places Allocation Section, the Qualifications Framework Secretariat and other service units will resume normal opening hours from May 4.

However, the Hong Kong Teachers' Centre, Special Education Resource Centre, Central Resources Centre and Young Achievers' Gallery located at Kowloon Tong Education Services Centre, as well as the Arts & Technology Education Centre will remain closed until further notice.

The AFCD’s licensing services and reception counters at Cheung Sha Wan Government Offices and the Marine Parks Office at CDW Building in Tsuen Wan will resume normal services Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 12.30pm and 1.30pm to 5.45pm.

The anti-rabies dog inoculation and dog licensing services at the animal management centres will also resume as normal from May 4.

Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Wetland Park (except some indoor facilities and play areas), eight Country Park Visitor/Education Centres, seven Hong Kong Geopark Park Visitor Centres and the Endangered Species Resources Centre will reopen from May 4.

However, school and public programmes will remain suspended until further notice.

The barbecue sites and campsites in country parks will also continue to be closed until May 7.

Click here for the latest public service arrangements.

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