The "Task Force on Short-term Labour Supply," coordinated by the Construction Industry Council and including members from the Development Bureau, labor unions, MTR Corporation, and the Housing Authority, has established a list of 26 shortage trades in the construction industry and set wages for foreign construction workers, while also accelerating the preliminary approval process for foreign labor import applications.
Furthermore, regarding concerns among local workers that importing foreign labor might "take away their jobs," Secretary for Labour and Welfare Matthew Cheung Kin-chung reiterated while attending an event for the elderly on the 29th that the government has no quota for importing foreign labor because it adopts a pragmatic and targeted approach. Labor shortages are approved on a project-by-project basis for specific trades, and foreign labor will only be approved if local workers cannot be hired after a four-week open recruitment period. The duration of foreign workers' employment in Hong Kong depends on the length of the project, generally not exceeding two years, and contract renewals are based on actual needs rather than being automatic.
