Labour and welfare chief Chris Sun on Monday dismissed a claim that the government is "replacing all local care home workers with imported staff". The allegation came from Federation of Trade Unions lawmaker and executive councillor Stanley Ng, who complained that officials didn't discuss with unions a plan to bring in another 8,000 care home workers in the coming three years. In the past year, 7,000 care workers were brought to Hong Kong under a special scheme for homes that failed to find local staff. Sun told lawmakers that with an ageing population, the demand for care workers will only increase. He said the quota under the import scheme might not be fully used if homes find local staff instead, adding that local workers will always be the main source of manpower. "With reference to actual circumstances, we see or anticipate that there will be a wastage in the sector," Sun said at a Legco welfare services panel meeting. "The age of existing workers is already quite old. If they retire, we cannot meet the service gap because we do not have as many youngsters as we want to join the sector." Sun said officials are determined to make sure that local people have priority when it comes to employment. He said a large-scale job fair will be held in September, with many non-governmental organisations operating care homes expected to take part. The minister added that the government will update the Labour Advisory Board about the special import scheme every six months.
