THE Democratic Party will pull out all stops to have its labour importation bill passed before the Lunar New Year.
At a party meeting last night, the Democrats decided it would be best to table the bill while the Legislative Council's investigation was under way into the alleged illegal deduction of money from imported workers' wages.
After its first two sessions questioning officials last week, criticism arose over what was termed the Government's laxity in controlling the scheme.
With its suggested amendments to the Immigration Ordinance, the new bill aims to let Legco vet every future application for imported labour.
According to its sponsor, Michael Ho Mun-ka, the long-term goal is to limit the number of visas granted to workers to the bare minimum.
Without the need to form a committee to examine the draft legislation clause by clause, the Democrats' bill is ready to go back to the council.
Since the party is still not sure about how much support it will receive, it has not decided whether to present the bill on the first or the second Wednesday of next month.
