Labour import plan won't bypass advisory board: govt
Labour minister Chris Sun on Wednesday dismissed suggestions that the government's new labour import plan will bypass vetting by the Labour Advisory Board.  His comment came a day after the government unveiled plans to hire up to 20,000 non-local construction and transport workers, in a bid to ease manpower shortages in the sectors.  Asked whether the scheme will evade the board's scrutiny, Sun said the non-statutory body will still play an important role in gate-keeping.  "Even for the sector-specific schemes, we have a regular arrangement where we are going to report back to the Labour Advisory Board regularly," he told reporters after appearing on a radio programme.  "Right now, our plan is to report around every six months. In this way, we are going to keep the Labour Advisory Board informed of the latest development, and also allow us to listen to views and suggestions of members of the Labour Advisory Board."  Sun also said the proposed lifting of an import ban for two years on workers with 26 job types, including waiters, hairstylists and junior cooks, highlights where shortages are most serious.  "We are allowing employers to make an application. But for each and every application, they have to first of all prove there is a shortage in recruiting from locals. So it's not for sure that the application will be processed," he added.  "The prerequisite is that they have to prove that there's a local shortage."  Speaking on another radio programme, Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong said the 20,000 quota under the import scheme will be dipped into on a quarterly basis. "We will distribute the quota quarter by quarter. We believe when the quota is used up, we are talking about a year later."