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     The Labour Department (LD) today (November 2) reminded employers to make practical and reasonable work arrangements for staff in times of typhoons and rainstorms. Employers should also make flexible arrangements for staff to resume work after a typhoon or rainstorm warning is cancelled with due consideration to road, traffic and other conditions. This will help maintain good labour-management relations and ensure the safety of employees and the smooth operation of organisations.
 
     “For staff who have practical difficulties in resuming work on time upon cancellation of a typhoon or rainstorm warning, employers should give due consideration to the circumstances of individual employees and handle each case flexibly, ” an LD spokesman said.
 
     “As typhoons and rainstorms are natural occurrences that cannot be avoided, employers should not deduct wages or allowances of employees who are absent from or late for work because of inclement weather. Neither should employers dismiss an employee summarily based on these grounds,” he said.
 
     The spokesman also reminded employers to observe the statutory liabilities and requirements under the Employment Ordinance, the Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance, the Employees’ Compensation Ordinance and the Minimum Wage Ordinance. 
 
     Employers should not deduct annual leave, statutory holidays or rest days employees are entitled to under the Employment Ordinance to compensate for the loss of working hours resulting from employees’ failure to report for duty upon the issue of Typhoon Signal No. 8 or the announcement of a Black Rainstorm Warning. An employer who without reasonable excuse fails to comply with the relevant provisions under the Employment Ordinance is liable to prosecution. 
 
     Employers should also note that they have an obligation to maintain a safe workplace for their employees under the Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance.
 
     Under the Employees’ Compensation Ordinance, employers are liable to pay compensation for death or injury incurred when employees are travelling by a direct route from their residence to their workplace, or from their workplace back to their residence after work, four hours before or after working hours on a day when Typhoon Signal No. 8 or above or a Red or Black Rainstorm Warning is in force.
 
     To provide practical guidelines and samples of work arrangements for the reference of employers and employees, the LD has issued the booklet “Code of Practice in times of Typhoons and Rainstorms”. The booklet can be obtained from branch offices of the Labour Relations Division or downloaded from the department’s webpage (www.labour.gov.hk/eng/public/wcp/Rainstorm.pdf).
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     As Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal No. 3 has been cancelled, the Home Affairs Department’s emergency hotline 2835 1473 has ceased to operate. read more

     Hong Kong Customs conducted a territory-wide operation from October 30 to today (November 1) to combat the sale of suspected counterfeit proprietary Chinese medicines. During the operation, a total of about 700 items of su… read more

     Hong Kong Customs seized about 3.4 kilograms of suspected cannabis buds with an estimated market value of about $700,000 at Hong Kong International Airport on October 30.

     Customs officers inspected an air mail parcel from the United States of America on October 30 and found the suspected cannabis buds concealed in a metal case in the parcel.

     After follow-up investigation, Customs officers yesterday (October 31) arrested a man and a woman in Cheung Sha Wan, who were suspected to be related to the case.

     The arrested 19-year-old man and 48-year-old woman have been jointly charged with one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug. They will appear at West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts tomorrow (November 2). 

     Under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, trafficking in a dangerous drug is a serious offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $5 million and life imprisonment.

     Members of the public may report any suspected drug trafficking activities to the Customs 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk).

  

     The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, today (November 1) attended the “Think Global, Think Hong Kong” symposium organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) in Tokyo, and met with the Chairman of Japan Business Federation and Japanese business leaders separately to encourage Japanese businesses to explore the Mainland and overseas markets through Hong Kong. She also attended an event on tourism in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and a cheongsam exhibition to promote Hong Kong’s tourism and design.

     Accompanied by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Edward Yau, Mrs Lam attended a breakfast meeting with more than 10 Japanese business leaders to brief them on the latest developments in Hong Kong, and the opportunities for Hong Kong brought about by the Belt and Road Initiative and the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

     Later, Mrs Lam; the Secretary for Justice, Ms Teresa Cheng, SC; Mr Yau; and the Secretary for Innovation and Technology, Mr Nicholas W Yang, attended the “Think Global, Think Hong Kong” symposium organised by the HKTDC with about 1 500 participants from the political and business sectors. Addressing the opening ceremony, Mrs Lam said Hong Kong and Japan have long had frequent exchanges in areas such as commerce, tourism, culture and education. She expressed the hope that the two places can respond jointly to the challenges of uncertainties over international trade, climate change and ageing population. She said that Hong Kong is the best place to do business with its unique advantage of “One Country, Two Systems”, unparalleled knowledge of the Mainland market and deep connections with the world, and that she welcomes Japanese businesses to partner with Hong Kong to jointly seize the huge opportunities presented by the Belt and Road Initiative and the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. She added that Hong Kong has over the past three years held the annual international Belt and Road Summit, which has established itself as the largest and most important Belt and Road commerce, investment and business matching platform among investors, service providers and project owners. She cordially invited the participants to join the fourth Belt and Road Summit to be held in September next year.

     After the symposium, she witnessed the signing of Memoranda of Understanding on trade and financial technology by the HKTDC, the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) and the Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited (HKCMCL) with their Japanese counterparts.

     At noon, accompanied by Mr Yau and Mr Yang, Mrs Lam had a luncheon with more than 20 representatives from universities, research and development institutions and businesses in relation to information and technology (I&T). She introduced to them the resources allocated and measures rolled out to promote I&T development in Hong Kong, including the establishment of two research clusters on healthcare technologies and on artificial intelligence and robotics technologies, enhanced tax deductions, smart city development, re-industrialisation and the implementation of schemes to attract talents. The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the HKSTP, Dr Sunny Chai, and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the HKCMCL, Dr George Lam, also attended the luncheon.

     Mrs Lam and Mr Yau then met with the Chairman of the Japan Business Federation, Mr Hiroaki Nakanishi. She expressed her gratitude to the Federation for its support for Hong Kong over the years and said she hopes that the Federation will continue to promote co-operation between the two places. The Japan Business Federation is a nationwide organisation representing all major branches of economic activities and is an influential institution in the Japanese business community.

     Mrs Lam and Mr Yau also attended an activity to promote tourism in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area organised by the Hong Kong Tourism Board. The activity introduces to the Japanese public the tourist attractions in Hong Kong and the cities in the Greater Bay Area as well as Hong Kong’s latest infrastructure. Speaking at the activity, Mrs Lam said that with the commissioning of the Hong Kong Section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, tourists will find making short day trips to Hong Kong’s neighbouring cities much more convenient, and she invited Japanese visitors to Hong Kong to make good use of the new infrastructure when planning their trips.

     She and Mr Yau later visited a cheongsam exhibition organised by the Hong Kong Arts Centre where they were briefed by the Chairperson of the Hong Kong Arts Centre, Mrs Dominica Yang, on the exhibits and chatted with the Hong Kong designers participating in the exhibition to learn about how they find inspiration in literature, fine art and Chinese culture to design cheongsams with unique features.

     In the evening, Mrs Lam met with the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan, Mr Takamori Yoshikawa. She said Hong Kong has been Japan’s largest export market for food and agricultural products over the years, which shows the love of Japanese gourmet food by Hong Kong people. She said the Hong Kong authorities will closely monitor the situation of the import of Japanese food and maintain close communication with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan to ensure food safety and safeguard public health.

     At night, Mrs Lam addressed the “Think Global, Think Hong Kong” dinner. She introduced to the guests the close relationship between Hong Kong and Japan and the areas for future co-operation between the two places.

     Mrs Lam will conclude her visit to Japan tomorrow (November 2).