以下為盧偉國議員的提問和發展局局長陳茂波的答覆：
問題：
根據香港建造商會去年底進行的一項調查的結果，建造業工人短缺超過百分之十五，即逾１萬人。另一方面，勞工顧問委員會在今年三月二十六日通過加快處理公營工程（包括鐵路工程）輸入勞工程序的建議。當局已成立專責小組協助審視２６個指定工種的輸入勞工申請，然後再交由勞工顧問委員會審批（優化措施）。關於輸入建造業工人，政府可否告知本會：
（一）有否評估優化措施的成效，包括輸入勞工申請的審批時間縮短了多少，以及申請獲批的百分率上升多少；若有，詳情為何；若否，原因為何；
（二）鑑於優化措施只不過旨在加快輸入勞工的程序，以及只適用於公營工程和２６個工種，但建造業人手緊絀問題仍然嚴重，當局會否盡快檢討補充勞工計劃，放寬各項輸入勞工的限制，以應付基建高峰期的建造業工人需求；若會，詳情為何；若否，原因為何；及
（三）會否盡快整理一份依緩急程度排序的基建工程項目清單，以及與建造業界合作進行詳盡的人力資源調查，以便全面檢討輸入建造業工人的政策；若會，詳情為何；若否，原因為何？
答覆：
代主席：
政府一直致力按計劃及預算推展工務工程項目，改善市民生活質素，並提升香港長遠的競爭力。
面對建造業人力需求緊絀的情況，政府與建造業議會（議會）一直積極採取多管齊下的措施來應對，包括加強培訓本地建造業工人及吸引更多新人加入建造業。
雖然上述措施已順利推行並取得一定成效，但仍然未能完全解決建造業技術工人短缺的情況。因此，在不影響本地工人就業和不降低其工資的原則下，建造業有需要適時輸入技術工人。現時，如承建商在本地招聘合適的工人時遇上確實困難，可考慮通過「補充勞工計劃」申請輸入屬技術員級別或以下的勞工。
就盧偉國議員的提問，現答覆如下：
（一）及（二）「補充勞工計劃」自一九九六年起實施。該計劃的政策目的，是僱主必須優先聘用本地工人，填補勞工市場技術員級別或以下的職位空缺。如在四星期公開招聘後，仍未聘到足夠的合資格本地工人，勞工處便會將相關申請及資料提交勞工顧問委員會給予意見，然後再由政府最後作出批准或拒絕的決定。
政府在今年四月推出優化措施，協助加快公營工程承建商涉及２６個人手短缺工種按「補充勞工計劃」輸入勞工的申請的事前準備工作。近年，涉及建造業的「補充勞工計劃」申請平均需要７．５個月的時間處理，推出優化措施的目標是在６個月內完成審批相關的申請。
到目前為止，在優化措施下已經處理完成的申請的平均審批時間約為４．５個月，遠低於６個月內完成審批的目標。鑑於其餘的申請尚在處理中，政府在現階段未能提供優化措施下申請獲批的百分率。
由於上述的新安排只推出不久，而大部分申請仍正在處理中，因此我們現時正緊密觀察各申請個案的情況，適時評估其成效及按需要探討及推出其他優化措施。
（三）政府一直會為基建工程作出長遠規劃，並適時和持續地投資值得推行的基建工程，以滿足社會需要和提升香港的競爭力。政府會按個別項目可帶來的益處、迫切性和整體基本工程計劃的財政可持續性等考慮來制訂基建工程項目的推行優次，按部就班推展這些項目。
另外，建造業議會會繼續按最新的預計公私營建造業工程量，不時更新技術工人人力供求情況的評估，並會適時調整培訓措施，以應對業界的人力需求。但即使計及培訓因素，建造業未來仍會面對嚴峻的人手短缺情況，據議會在今年十月發表的最新的估算，在未來數年，建造業仍欠缺約一萬至一萬五千名技術工人。
據我們從建造業界所了解，建造業在運作上有其特質，有別於其他行業，令承建商透過「補充勞工計劃」申請輸入勞工時面對較多不確定因素。例如，在批出合約前，承建商無法準確計劃其旗下工程的人手需求。而當合約批出後，承建商又往往需要在短時間內展開工程以配合完工期。此外，建造工程工序一環扣一環，工程亦會受天氣、材料及人力供應、上游工序進度等因素所影響。這些情況令承建商難以就其人力需求作出準確規劃。因此，我們會繼續與業界緊密聯繫，因應建造業的特性，探討如何進一步優化輸入勞工的計劃以配合行業需要，滿足社會的需求。
Following is a question by Ir Dr Hon Lo Wai-kwok and a reply by the Secretary for Development, Mr Paul Chan:
Question:
According to the findings of a survey conducted by the Hong Kong Construction Association at the end of last year, there was a shortfall of more than 15 per cent of workers, i.e. over 10 000, in the construction industry. On the other hand, the Labour Advisory Board (LAB) endorsed on March 26 this year a proposal to expedite the labour importation processes for public works projects, including railway projects. The authorities have set up a dedicated task force to help examine the applications for importing labour of 26 designated trades prior to their submission to LAB for vetting and approval (the enhancement measure). Regarding the importation of workers of the construction industry, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has assessed the effectiveness of the enhancement measure, including the extent to which the time for vetting and approval of applications for importing labour has been shortened and the percentage of successful applications has increased; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(2) as the enhancement measure is only aimed at expediting the labour importation processes and is only applicable to public works projects and the 26 trades, whereas the manpower shortage in the construction industry remains serious, whether the authorities will expeditiously review the Supplementary Labour Scheme and relax the various restrictions on labour importation, in order to meet the demand for construction workers when the infrastructure construction is in full swing; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3) whether it will expeditiously work out a list of infrastructural projects prioritised according to their degree of urgency and conduct an comprehensive human resources survey in collaboration with the construction sector to facilitate a comprehensive review of the policy on importation of construction workers; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
Acting President,
The Government has all along been committed to implementing public works projects in accordance with work schedule and within budget with a view to improving the quality of life of the public and enhancing the long-term competitiveness of Hong Kong.
The Government and the Construction Industry Council (CIC) have been actively implementing a host of multi-pronged measures to cope with the tight manpower situation of the construction industry. These measures include enhancing training of local construction workers and attracting more new entrants to join the construction industry.
Although the above-mentioned initiatives have been implemented smoothly and have attained certain results, the shortage of skilled construction workers has yet to be fully resolved. Hence, with due regard to the principle of not affecting the employment and not lowering the wages of local workers, the construction industry needs to import skilled workers in a timely manner. Currently, contractors having genuine difficulties in recruiting suitable staff locally may consider applying for importation of workers at or below technician level through the Supplementary Labour Scheme (SLS).
My reply to Ir Dr Hon Lo Wai-kwok's question is as follows:
(1) and (2) SLS commenced operation in 1996 with the policy objective that employers must accord priority to recruiting local workers to fill job vacancies at technician level or below in the labour market. If employers cannot recruit enough qualified local workers during the four-week local recruitment, the Labour Department (LD) will forward the applications with relevant information to the Labour Advisory Board for advice. The Government will then make the decision to approve or reject the applications.
The Government has rolled out enhancement measure since April this year to expedite the preparatory works for SLS applications involving 26 trades with manpower shortage submitted by contractors for public works. In recent years, it took an average of 7.5 months in processing construction-related SLS applications. The enhancement measure aims to complete the processing of the relevant applications within 6 months.
Hitherto, the average time for completing the processing of the applications under the enhancement measure was around 4.5 months, which is much shorter than the target processing time of within 6 months. As other applications are still under processing, the Government cannot provide the percentage of successful applications under the enhancement measure at this stage.
As the afore-mentioned new arrangements have only been put in place for a short time, most of the applications are still being processed. We are closely monitoring the situation of individual applications. We will review the effectiveness of the new arrangements in a timely manner and explore and roll out other enhancement measures as required.
(3) The Government has all along been adopting long-term planning for infrastructure projects and will continuously invest in worthwhile infrastructure in a timely manner to meet social needs and enhance Hong Kong's competitiveness. We will continue to prioritise our infrastructure projects with due regard to the merits and urgency of individual projects and fiscal sustainability of the Capital Works Programme with a view to taking forward these projects in an orderly manner.
Further, to address the manpower needs of the construction industry, CIC will continue to update regularly its assessment of the manpower supply and demand for skilled workers in light of the latest forecast of construction output of both the public and private sectors and will adjust in a timely manner its training initiatives to meet the industry demand. Notwithstanding, even taking into account training efforts, the construction industry will still be facing acute manpower shortage in the future. According to CIC's latest forecast released in October this year, there will be a shortage of about 10 000 to 15 000 skilled workers in the industry in the coming years.
We are given to understand from the construction industry that there are some unique operational characteristics of the construction industry such that it would be facing some uncertainties in applying for labour importation through SLS not encountered by other industries. For instance, before the award of a contract, a contractor cannot plan in advance their manpower demand of their project works accurately. On the other hand, once a contract is awarded, the contractor will usually need to commence works shortly to meet the scheduled completion time. Besides, construction works are carried out in sequential order and they may be affected by factors such as weather conditions, supply of materials and manpower, progress of upstream work processes and so on. These make it difficult for contractors to undertake accurate planning for their manpower requirements. In this connection, we will continue to maintain close liaison with the industry to explore further enhancements on importation of workers having regard to the characteristics of the industry so as to fulfill the needs of the industry and the community at large.
