Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun on Sunday said a pilot scheme to import foreign domestic carers with advanced training and experience in elderly care is expected to launch in the second half of next year.

Proposed in the latest Policy Address to address the care needs of Hong Kong’s ageing population, the initiative will offer accredited helpers a salary 10 to 20 percent higher than standard rates.

The government aims to import several hundred workers during the initial phase.

Speaking on a TVB programme, Sun stressed that Hong Kong urgently needs to bring in more qualified elderly care workers.

“We have around 380,000 foreign domestic helpers in the city, but the Social Welfare Department currently provides only about 1,000 government-subsidised places for them to learn basic elderly care skills,” Sun said.

“The basic skills courses we offer span around 10 hours. But under the upcoming pilot scheme, foreign domestic carers will have to complete at least 150 hours of training. The difference is actually quite substantial, and the quota is limited.”

He stressed that the qualification threshold would be high, noting that domestic helpers currently in Hong Kong must return to their places of origin to receive training and gain accreditation before joining the scheme.

Turning to another pilot scheme — under which newly government-built residential care homes for the elderly will be operated by the social service sector on a self-financed basis — Sun said the initiative aims to make better use of public resources.

The focus, he stressed, would be on districts with higher populations of middle-class seniors to offer them a broader range of service choices.

However, the welfare chief added that in communities with more underprivileged residents, the government would continue to focus on providing subsidised elderly care services.

When asked about the "HK$2 flat rate or 80 percent discount" scheme, Sun said a comparison of data from four months before and after the measure was introduced in April showed an eight percent decrease in the average government subsidy offered per ride.

He also noted that there was an identical eight percent decline in the number of journeys costing over HK$10 during the same period.




Edited by Tony Sabine