We urge members to take immediate notice regarding the Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme (ESLS).  The Federation of Hong Kong Hotel Owners (FHKHO) and Hong Kong Hotels Association (HKHA) are jointly launching an Expression of Interest (EOI) exercise to ascertain members' genuine needs for importing labour via the ESLS.  

According to the surveys conducted by VTC, FHKHO, and HKHA, the current hotel manpower shortage is around 10,000 full-time staff, while the number of hotel rooms has increased from 80,000 to 89,000 compared to 2018. Among these, 70% are rank and file, with an extreme labour shortage in Room Attendant, Public Area Cleaner, Front Desk Receptionist, Waiter/Waitress, and Cook.  

To address the issue, we have worked diligently over the past eighteen months to engage the authorities in enforcing solutions.  Despite our efforts, we are disappointed that sectors other than elderly homes (7,000 quotas), construction (12,000 quotas), and transport (8,000 quotas) are required to apply ESLS for labour import as per the CE's announcement on June 13.  

In light of this, we have designed an EOI form to consolidate the industry requirements for submission to the Labour & Welfare Bureau (LWB).  We aim to reiterate our readiness and eagerness to shorten the approval process and expedite members' applications once it is open in September.  

For the launch of the ESLS, the Government is committed to shortening the application processing time within three months while the requirements are similar to those of the current SLS.  The key requirements of SLS are available on the Labour Department's website: Labour Department - Supplementary Labour Scheme.  We have extracted the following documents that are essential to facilitate members' preparation for their submissions: