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SCMP Reporter

Labour officials are to visit private estates to identify potential employers for local domestic helpers.

 At the same time, jobless housewives in public housing estates will be targeted to register with the department for domestic work, the labour chief told lawmakers yesterday.

 'We will visit large residential estates to promote our special services to all potential employers of domestic helpers.

 'This is a new concept, as we seldom go out of our office to hunt for job vacancies,' Commissioner for Labour Matthew Cheung Kin-chung told the manpower panel.

 It was among various initiatives tackling unemployment.

 But legislators were unimpressed, saying a major revamp of policy was needed to improve the job market.

 Unionist Chan Yuen-han, of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong, said the Government's efforts were still far from adequate.

 She quoted a survey conducted by the Federation of Trade Unions which said there was a demand for up to 23,000 local domestic helpers.

 'How can the current 11 employment offices cope with the demand when some 230,000 households want to hire local domestic helpers?' she asked.

 Mr Cheung said it was only the first step and they would work closely with the Employee Retraining Board.

 Last year, 3,665 vacancies for domestics were recorded by the department, 58 per cent of them for part-time jobs.

 The salary offered was about $6,000 for full-time posts and $4,000 for part-time posts. The board reported 2,100 such jobs, 40 per cent of them on Hong Kong Island.



Private estates drive for local domestic helpers