Efforts will be stepped up to find Hong Kong people jobs as domestic helpers amid the economic downturn, the Government said yesterday.
The announcement by Labour Commissioner Pamela Tan Kam Mi-wah came as a government study found nearly two-thirds of families think local domestic workers can meet the job requirements.
Mrs Tan said the Labour Department would explore job vacancies for local maids in areas where demand for helpers was keen. 'In some districts, like Taikoo Shing, where demand for, and supply of, domestic helpers co-exist, we will make on-site visits to help people fill up the job vacancies,' she said after a meeting of the Government's taskforce on employment.
But a trade union member said the Government's plan was nothing new as a number of local domestic helpers had received training and had already started looking for jobs. 'They go to some residential areas and give out leaflets and put up banners in search of potential employers, and it does help a bit,' said Chung Yuen-yi, organising secretary of the Hong Kong Domestic Workers' General Union. 'The Government is merely increasing the number of visits, and I'm not that optimistic about it.'
Mrs Tan's announcement came after official findings showed demand for both local and foreign domestic helpers would rise in the coming year.
Research by the Education and Manpower Bureau projected that 43,000 jobs for domestic helpers would be generated within 12 months, while 29,000 existing jobs would be lost.
