The approval process for the first round of applications under the Labour Importation Scheme for Transport Sector - Public Light Bus/Coach Trade (Scheme) has been completed. The Transport Department (TD) issued letters today (September 25) to notify all applicants of their application results.

     The application period for the first round of applications under the Scheme was from July 17 to August 7. A total of 118 applications were received during the application period, involving 1 601 labour importation quotas covering public light bus (PLB) drivers and coach drivers. After assessment by the inter-departmental liaison group comprising representatives from the Transport and Logistics Bureau, the Labour Department and the TD, the Commissioner for Transport approved 98 applications involving a total of 969 drivers (57 per cent of the quota ceiling of 1 700), among which 15 applications were not fully approved as they failed to meet the manning ratio requirement of full-time local staff and imported labour.

     Apart from four applications withdrawn by the applicants, the remaining 16 applications were not approved as the applicants failed to meet the requirements relating to local recruitment, the manning ratio requirement of full-time local staff and imported labour, or the applicants are not holders of valid passenger service licences. The summary of the results of the first round of applications is at the Annex.
 
     A spokesman for the TD said, "We hope that imported labour will receive training, obtain the required local driving licences and start working in Hong Kong soon, so as to alleviate the acute manpower shortage experienced by the PLB and coach trades and to facilitate the provision of reliable public transport services. In addition, we will also arrange a briefing session for the successful applicants to enable them to arrange for the imported labour to receive driving training and acquire driving licences after arriving in Hong Kong."

     The TD will announce the details of the second round of applications under the Scheme in due course. A stakeholder consultative group, comprising the TD, relevant transport trade associations and labour representatives, has earlier been set up to gauge the views of the relevant stakeholders on the implementation of the Scheme. The TD will continue to maintain communication with the consultative group and closely monitor the implementation of the Scheme, as well as to provide appropriate assistance to eligible applicants.

     The Chief Executive in Council endorsed in June 2023 the introduction of the Scheme to, on the prerequisite of safeguarding the employment of local labour, suitably allow the PLB/coach trade to apply for importation of labour to fill vacancies for drivers with a quota ceiling of 1 700.

Ends/Monday, September 25, 2023
Issued at HKT 18:50

NNNN