A SHENZHEN domestic helper has become the first on the mainland to be employed in Hong Kong since 2007, according to Shenzhen s domestic service industry association.
The association cooperated with General Chamber of Hong Kong Manpower Agencies (GCHKMA) last December to establish a Shenzhen-HK domestic service committee, involving leading domestic service enterprises from the two cities.
Having provided nursing services to the elderly for the past three years, Xu Qingling, 45, who is from Maoming in Guangdong Province, undertook professional training and passed an interview by her Hong Kong employer several months ago, obtaining work qualifications through the Supplementary Labor Scheme (SLS) of the Hong Kong government.
The SLS is a scheme that allows employers with genuine difficulties finding suitable local staff at a technical level to import workers to alleviate the labor shortage. Employers, irrespective of their industry, may apply for imported workers under the SLS.
Xu will be allowed to work in Hong Kong for two years, on a starting salary of HK$4,800 (US$618).
Deputy head of the GCHKMA, Liu Zhenhui, said there were around 290,000 domestic helpers in Hong Kong and about half the employers were willing to employ domestic helpers from the mainland.
However it was extremely hard for mainland workers to find Hong Kong employment because of tight labor import policy restrictions, Liu said.
(Li Hao)
