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SCMP Reporter

Only two per cent of construction and catering employers have complied with a Mutual Provident Fund scheme designed for casual staff because of complicated procedures and a desire to save money.

According to the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) Schemes Authority, there are about 10,000 construction and 20,000 catering firms employing a total of 120,000 daily-paid casual workers that need to enroll in the industries scheme.

So far, only about 600 employers have enrolled. The deadline for compliance is December 1.

The industries scheme is intended for sectors that traditionally lack proper employment contracts and have high labour mobility.

Employers enrolling in the industries scheme do not have to keep paper records of staff wages and employment. But employers will still need to deposit daily contributions of different levels into the workers' accounts.

Secretary-General of the Hong Kong Construction Association, Patrick Chan Wing-tung, said a variety of reasons had been behind the lack of compliance. Mr Chan said many in the construction sector had hesitated to join the scheme because of their low, unsteady income.

The fluctuating status of staff, from employed to casual to self-employed, was another reason.

Mr Chan also criticised the cumbersome procedures in the industries scheme, which requires a foreman to pay different levels of contributions through telephone banking or ATM machines.

'Given their informal nature, they will find it cumbersome to remember their workers' pay day by day and to remember to transfer the few dollars at the machine or through telephones,' Mr Chan said.

There are six levels of contributions to follow, ranging from $7.50 to $30 a day, depending on the workers' daily income.

However, authority executive director Ernest Lee Shu-wing urged the sector to face up to reality, saying there had to be a minimal procedure to follow and the different levels of contributions were already simplified.

While the number of employers enrolling in the industries scheme appeared low, Mr Lee noted that many, especially in the catering sector, may have enrolled in various master-trust schemes providing records on the contracts of employees and wages.

He said: 'We are worried about these informal sectors, but the law is the law and we will have to enforce it.'

Mr Lee added that publicity for the schemes would be stepped up at construction sites and for catering firms.

The vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Construction Industry Employees General Union, Choi Chun-wa, said unwillingness to join MPF was almost solely a matter of saving money as incomes were far too low.

He added: 'The authority must think of ways to persuade workers that despite their low wages, it is a social responsibility to contribute.'



Bosses slow to comply on MPF for casual staff