Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee announced in his latest policy address that the government will tighten foreign worker import policies to curb abuse of the “Supplementary Labour Optimisation Scheme.”
Starting tomorrow, employers seeking to hire waiters or junior chefs from overseas must first recruit locally for at least six weeks, attend weekly Labour Department job fairs, and submit hiring records for verification.
The policy also changes the calculation method for staff ratios: applications will now be based on individual job categories, with a minimum ratio of two local employees for every foreign worker. For example, an employer applying to import one waiter and one junior chef must already employ at least two local full-time staff in each role.
To strengthen enforcement, authorities will set up a hotline for reporting illegal workers and expand interdepartmental operations against unlawful hiring.
The government also plans legislation to improve work injury compensation for platform workers, through consultations with industry and labour representatives under a new tripartite task force.
Officials said the measures aim to balance labour market supply and demand, safeguard local employment, and enhance safety protections for platform workers.