Disabled workers should be assessed for productivity - and by extension their salary rates - after a statutory minimum wage is introduced, the Labour and Welfare Bureau has said.
'If a wage rate commensurate with the reduced productivity of a [disabled worker] is allowed, the chances of [him] being displaced could be reduced,' it says in a paper to be tabled for discussion at the Legislative Council manpower panel on Thursday.
Employers, however, have expressed worries that an assessment scheme may complicate the hiring process and thus push up costs.
The bureau, which has held meetings with various concern groups, says in the paper that most support an assessment scheme - under which productivity of the disabled would be tested and a minimum wage rate calculated accordingly.
'Overseas countries like the United States and Australia have provided for a reduced rate of the [statutory minimum wage] through a productivity assessment,' the paper says.
The disabled worker should be the one to initiate the assessment, to prevent abuse by unscrupulous employers, according to the paper. He should also be allowed a few weeks to adapt to the workplace and his duties before taking the tests.
Those holding a registration card for people with disabilities should be eligible for the assessment scheme, the paper says.