Chris Sun takes aim at social worker statutory body

Labour and Welfare Secretary Chris Sun on Friday slammed the Social Worker Registration Board for failing to take concrete steps to ban national security convicts from becoming social workers. Writing on social media, the minister said the statutory body had failed to alter its procedures, almost two years after a law change intended to keep national security offenders out of the profession. Sun also said the board had renewed the licences or approved licence applications from people who had committed serious offences in the past. He said on another occasion, the board approved a social worker facing a rioting charge to become a member of its disciplinary committee panel. "The current actions and decisions have seriously deviated from the spirit of the laws safeguarding national security and disregarded the overall interest of society and damaged the professionalism and credibility of social workers," Sun said. He added it's necessary to improve the governance of the statutory body for the profession to get back on the right track, so as to implement the principle of patriots administering Hong Kong. The chairman of the board, Ng Yut-ming, says he thinks there's a misunderstanding about the board's operations. "Under the present ordinance, we have a mechanism to handle all complaints or different kinds of offences against the law," he told RTHK. "I don't think the Social Workers Registration Board needs to establish another mechanism to handle the inclusion of national security offences." Ng said he's met with Sun over the matter on Friday evening, and he said the minister has agreed to meet with the board later on. _____________________________Last updated: 2024-05-10 HKT 22:58