Board split over assessment plan for disabled
Employers' and employees' representatives on the Labour Advisory Board are split over whether an assessment scheme to examine disabled workers' productivity should be set up when introducing a discounted statutory minimum wage.
The board representatives yesterday discussed the Labour Department's proposal to introduce the assessment scheme, under which disabled workers' productivity would be tested and a minimum-wage rate calculated accordingly.
'If some well-defined and safeguarded flexibility on the wage rate, taking into account the productivity of a person with a disability is allowed, the chances of the person with a disability being displaced could be reduced,' the Labour Department said.
But the department also said the mechanism should be simple and pragmatic to avoid undermining employers' willingness to employ the disabled.
Employers' representative on the board Ho Sai-chu was worried that the assessment scheme would complicate the hiring process.
'It might take a few weeks or months to do the assessment ... we also hope the statutory minimum wage will not affect employment opportunities of these workers, but no employer wants trouble when hiring workers,' he said.
'If the assessment results show a disabled worker actually deserves a much higher wage rate than the rate which has been offered to the worker, the employer might have to pay back the wage difference. That will involve uncertainties in labour costs, and employers will not like that.'
Employees' representative Gordon Tsui Sai-cheung said all employees' representatives on the board insisted a fair and just assessment scheme must be set up to avoid disabled workers being exploited.
'Employers' representatives do not want to have such a scheme, but we think it is a must to establish a system to measure disabled workers' ability. Otherwise, these workers might be forced to accept a lower minimum wage rate in order to get jobs even though they can work just as well as able workers,' he said.
Employees' representatives also suggested asking the government to carry out the assessment scheme.
'The scheme will be more credible and authoritative if it is conducted by the government. Also, the cost should be covered by the government,' Mr Tsui said.
Another employees' representative, Ng Wai-yee, agreed. 'If there is no such scheme, employers will just offer a discounted minimum wage rate to disabled workers, and workers do not have much bargaining power, especially when the economy is bad,' she said.
Ms Ng also said the assessment scheme must be carried out on a voluntary basis and consent from disabled workers must be obtained before asking them to be assessed.
