The chairman of the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades said on Friday the catering sector needs imported labour as they help ensure stable operations.

Winston Yeung told an RTHK radio programme the industry had tried to recruit local workers but that many of them were only looking for casual instead of long-term employment.

He said workers have to be flexible due to the slow business environment that has led to manpower cuts.

Yeung also accused locals of being very choosy about the work they have to do, making it difficult for the sector to deliver good service quality.

"For the imported labour we employed after failing to recruit locally, we have at least signed a two-year contract with them," he said.

"They are able to take up positions that many locals don't want, for example those with early or late working hours and with unpaid rest hours in between.

"Imported workers are cooperative. That's why I believe they can provide stability for us."

Under the Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme, employers are prohibited from firing locals after importing workers.

The federation has, Yeung said, always stressed this rule to members, and the sackings that have been made in some cases were due to their job performances.

Starting from September 10, employers looking to recruit imported waiters and junior cooks under the scheme are required to participate in job fairs held by the Labour Department once a week during the four-week local recruitment period.

The department will only look at their application to import staff afterwards.

Yeung said some eateries have managed to employ locals at the job fairs even though he had not been able to get hold of figures.