Welfare chief full of praise for carers' hotline
The Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Chris Sun, has hailed a 24-hour hotline for carers, saying it offers strong support to those in need. The hotline was set up by the government last September and gets some 80 calls a day on average, with most callers seeking counselling or community support services. Speaking on a new RTHK programme "Your Home Address", which discusses government policies with senior officials, Sun said the hotline 182183 comes in handy for carers in times of need. "I can guarantee you there'll be a real person answering your call, not just give you the counselling. Say if you have all the people you're taking care of, you need a half a day relief, call them," the minister said. "They will find you a place, just a place to give you half a day off or even a whole day off. You say, 'I don't have the money.' We're going to pay for it... If you're really in big trouble, a social worker will come to you right at the moment." On government efforts to attract talent to the city, Sun said there's a shortage of about 100,000 workers in different sectors, and officials are hopeful various talent schemes would help bring people to Hong Kong. Sun said the government's talent engage office in Wan Chai and its online platform provides a one-stop shop to help new arrivals find solutions for the different problems they face. The minister called this a big improvement, saying nothing was done in the past to help those who came to Hong Kong through different talent schemes.