Need to reform social worker body 'apolitical': govt
Labour and welfare minister Chris Sun said on Monday there was "nothing political" about him saying the governance of the statutory body overseeing social workers must be improved, and that the motivation was about raising the sector's professional standards.  Last Friday, he wrote on social media accusing the Social Workers Registration Board of ignoring society's overall interests, damaging the professionalism and credibility of the sector by deviating from the spirit of the law. Specifically, he wrote that the board had renewed the licences or approved licence applications of people who'd committed serious offences in the past, while approving a social worker facing a rioting charge to join its disciplinary committee panel. The minister said improvements must be made to implement the principle of patriots administering Hong Kong. Currently, the board has 15 members - eight of whom are elected, with six appointed and an official from the Social Welfare Department. Speaking to reporters, Sun didn't say whether the government plans to appoint more members to the board.  He said it would announce its reform package once it's ready. Sun also dismissed an argument from the board's chairman, Ng Yut-ming, that the minister had misunderstandings regarding how the board operates. "There's no misunderstanding - I have complete information about what's going on in the board," the minister said. Social welfare sector lawmaker Tik Chi-yuen said he hopes the board won't become a political battlefield. Tik said that if the government decides to go ahead and add more appointed members, he hoped it wouldn’t be because it wanted to gain the majority of the board and exert greater influence. The lawmaker also proposed that future appointed members be nominated or recommended by universities or professional bodies as they'd be considered impartial. "If you want to improve the registration board, it has to include the element of professionalism," he said. "I suggest that the scholars from the universities or members of the professional body would increase the content and element of professionalism. I also imagine it will be more easily accepted by our professional sector." Tik hoped that officials would consult social workers regarding the reform proposal in future.