Claims handled by the Labour Relations Service fell 17% to 19,219 in the first eight months of this year, compared with the same period last year, while labour disputes involving 20 or more employees fell 45% to 174.

Speaking at the Seminar on Labour Relations & Customer Service in the Catering, Retail & Hotel & Tourism Industries today, Permanent Secretary for Economic Development & Labour Matthew Cheung said the average waiting time for conciliation has shortened from last year's 4.1 weeks to 3.5 weeks, while the successful conciliation rate has grown from 65.1% to 67.7%.

Mr Cheung said with the reviving economy, the number of labour disputes and claims has dropped since the last quarter of 2003. Cases handled fell 3%, from the record-high of 35,254 cases in 2002 to 34,116 last year.

He said: "Hong Kong has many key attributes that we are proud of, and harmonious labour relations is one of them. In 2003, the total number of working days lost because of strikes per 1,000 wage earners and salaried employees was 0.05 days on average, and it dropped to 0.02 in the first eight months this year, which is among the lowest in the world."

Enhancing labour relations

Mr Cheung said it is encouraging to see no labour disputes in the hotel and tourism trades so far this year. He said there are over 400,000 employees in the sector, which includes the retail and catering industries, engaging 11.4% of Hong Kong's labour force.

To optimise the vast human resources in the industries, harmonious labour relations must be maintained along with effective employer-employee communication.

"In enhancing communication, we have actively set up tripartite committees at the industry level to facilitate dialogue among employers, employees and government representatives on issues of common concern," he said.

So far, nine committees have been set up in the catering, retail, hotel and tourism, property management, logistics, construction, printing, theatre, and cement and concrete industries. They hold regular meetings and help resolve problems.

The Labour Advisory Board provides an important tripartite forum for discussing labour issues and for advising the Government on the formulation of labour policies and legislation.