More than 2,000 imported workers approved to join Hong Kong private care homes, ease staff shortages during coronavirus outbreak

Labour chief Law Chi-Kwong says 364 applications, involving import of 2,054 care workers, approved as of April 1

As residential care sector struggles with personnel shortages, Law says ‘importing workers from the mainland or even overseas is inevitable’

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Secretary for Labour and Welfare Law Chi-kwong. Photo: May Tse

Published: 6:41pm, 3 Apr 2022Updated: 8:23am, 4 Apr 2022

More than 2,000 imported workers have been approved since March to join private care homes for the elderly under a special scheme to ease staff shortages during the Covid-19 outbreak, Hong Kong’s labour minister has said.

Secretary for Labour and Welfare Law Chi-kwong wrote in his official blog on Sunday that 415 applications had been sent to the government’s special import scheme since it was launched last month.

As of April 1, the Labour Department had approved 364 applications, involving the import of 2,054 care workers, he said.

The initiative, which runs until May 31, relaxes requirements on the import of care workers for three months under the existing supplementary labour scheme.

Under the programme, care homes are exempt from completing a four-week local recruitment period before applying to import employees.

At the same time, the government has also hired about 1,000 temporary workers from mainland China to help care for the elderly, people with disabilities and children staying at isolation facilities and holding centres.

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