Worker representatives on Thursday met the labour secretary, who they said promised to take steps to stop the exploitation of migrant employees.

Mainland employees seeking work in Hong Kong under various labour importation schemes must apply through authorised agents, which reportedly charge them fees that can add up to tens of thousands of dollars.

Following a meeting with Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun, an employee representative on the Labour Advisory Board, Lam Wai-kong, said the minister had promised to take legal and administrative steps to tackle the issue.

“Actually the secretary didn’t specify what the legal and administrative steps would be. But from my own understanding, the salary for the import workers should be based on the median salary of local workers. If they are not paid correctly that means the agents have broken the law,” he said.

“As for administrative steps, in the vetting process for individual labour import applications, I believe the Labour and Welfare Bureau has the ability to make changes to decide whether each case gets approved or not.”

Lam added that Sun had also agreed to review labour importation schemes sooner, instead of waiting every two years.

Meanwhile, another representative on the board, Jenny Tam, said they are also worried about the government’s plan to bring in 10,000 skilled workers aged 35 or under over the next three years.

“The secretary had cited the shortage of A-Grade electricians as an example. But we think there are actually enough workers in this field, with many holding licences. We are worried that importing more workers could affect local employment,” she said.

Tam added that Sun responded by saying officials will be prudent and listen to different views.