Hong Kong transport operators facing labour crunch prepare for first batch of drivers from mainland China
- Almost 1,000 minibus and coach drivers approved to work in the city must clear driving tests first
- Transport bosses make plans to house new drivers and help them get used to the work culture in Hong Kong
Hong Kong minibus owner Eric Tse Cheuk-yu is ready to welcome 34 mainland Chinese drivers who will arrive soon.
He has rented a 600 sq ft (56 square metres) unit in Tsuen Wan with two toilets and seven bunk beds to house 14 workers and is looking for more flats for the others.
“It’s a great cost and has taken months of preparation. We hope to hire good quality drivers who can speak Cantonese and have professional driving skills,” he said.
His drivers are among 461 minibus and 508 coach drivers from the mainland approved by the Transport Department in September to work in the city under a new scheme to import labour.
Like other transport operators in the city, the owner of Hop Fat Light Bus had struggled to recruit locals for his fleet of about 90 minibuses. Tse now has more than 140 drivers, but said he needed 200.
He has already interviewed and shortlisted his new drivers from Guangdong province, all Cantonese speakers with at least a decade of driving experience.
They must clear a Hong Kong driving test to get their mainland licence converted to a local one.
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One difference for motorists is that vehicles in Hong Kong drive on the left-hand side, whereas those on the mainland drive on the right-hand side, but Tse was not concerned that it would be a major challenge.
He said he felt driving habits mattered more, such as making sure to signal before turning and knowing when not to honk the horn.
Once the newcomers clear their driving test, they will accompany a veteran driver who will show them the route, highlight common challenges and how to communicate well with passengers.
Tse said the company would emphasise the importance of heeding traffic rules and the consequences of dangerous driving.
“They are coming to Hong Kong for money. Nothing is more important than safety if they want to earn,” he said.
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Tse estimated that each mainland driver cost him about HK$30,000 (US$3,835) initially, covering basic pay and expenses for accommodation, training and insurance.
Hong Kong’s ongoing labour crunch led the Transport and Logistics Bureau to invite transport operators to apply in mid-July to bring in the mainland drivers.
Some in the industry were concerned that housing the workers would be a burden, while the Motor Transport Workers General Union objected, saying unfair pay and poor working conditions were the main reasons drivers quit and few locals joined.
Dick Yip Shung-kin, 44, managing director of Nam Kee Travel, said he applied to bring in mainlanders because he had a fleet of 150 coaches but only enough workers to run three-fifths of the operation.
His company provides shuttle bus services for schools and companies, and full-day hire for private tours.
He received approval to bring in about 30 workers who must learn to understand the company’s different types of passengers.
Those transporting children to and from school would need to be patient and communicate well with the bus nanny overseeing the passengers.
That would be the focus of training for his recruits, as most candidates for the job were experienced public transport drivers.
Yip said he was prepared to pay HK$25,000 a month, above the recommended HK$18,000 to HK$24,000.
Hong Kong transport operators apply to import 1,600 mainland Chinese drivers
“The industry is too competitive when drivers have too many options to drive for public buses or even Uber,” he said.
With the new drivers, he hoped his fleet would be able to run at full strength with at least 90 per cent of coaches on the road daily.
His workers would be housed in at least six flats he hoped to rent in Tuen Mun and the company would make an effort to teach them soft skills for living and mixing with locals.
“Getting along with the new drivers is a two-way street,” he said.
Foreign workers under the scheme are subject to an initial two-year contract.
The authorities were prepared to allow up to 1,700 minibus and coach drivers to be brought in from outside Hong Kong.
But in the first round of applications, there were only 969 approvals.
The department said earlier that 20 applications failed to meet the required manning ratio of full-time local staff to imported workers, and some did not have valid passenger service licences.
Hong Kong set to bring in 20,000 workers to help ease labour crunch
A spokesman said the department would call for a second round of applications in due course.
Tse and Yip hoped the scheme would be permanent as they had to invest a lot in training and housing the workers.
“If we want to keep the business going, we need to remodel, try new things, and work out with the new people. Otherwise there would be no change and our manpower remains stagnant,” Yip said.
Importing mainland drivers is part of a government plan to bring in 20,000 workers to ease the labour crunch in the construction, aviation and transport industries.
The construction sector will be allowed to import a maximum of 12,000 workers from the mainland, while the Hong Kong International Airport will be allowed to bring in 6,300 to fill vacancies for cleaners and other frontline roles.
