Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2000, published 89th ILC session (2001)

Labour Statistics Convention, 1985 (No. 160) - Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Ratification: 1997)

The Committee notes the Government’s first report. It notes that, according to the decision of the Government, the Convention would continue to apply to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region with modification regarding Articles 9, 10 and 11 of the Convention, and, in pursuance of Article 17, to the exclusion of the agricultural sector. The Committee asks the Government to supply further information on the following points:

Article 3.  The Committee asks the Government to provide more detailed information on the consultation with the representative organizations of employers and workers, in particular, with regard to statistics of occupational injuries and occupational diseases, and statistics of those of industrial disputes (Articles 14 and 15).

Article 9, paragraph 1.  The Committee notes that, by virtue of the declared modification on this Article, statistics of average earnings are not compiled. The Committee, however, notes that statistics of "median" monthly earnings are compiled, and it draws the Government’s attention to the fact that the measure "median" fully conforms to the international guidelines, which do not require the compilation of arithmetic averages. This point, therefore, should not be considered as a limitation to the acceptance of Article 9, paragraph 1.

However, the Committee notes that the statistics of median earnings and hours actually worked derived from the General Household Survey (GHS) are compiled for all persons employed (i.e. employees and self-employed persons (employers and own-account workers)), and not separately for employees. Recalling that the requirement of this provision of the Convention is the compilation and publication of statistics of earnings and hours of work of employees, the Committee asks the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to compile and publish such statistics of employees separately from the other categories of persons.

Article 10.  The Committee notes that the report indicates that, as a result of the application of the Convention with modification, statistics of wage distribution were not compiled. The Committee draws the Government’s attention to the distinction between the terms "wage structure" (i.e. composition of earnings) and "wage distribution" (i.e. distribution of employees according to levels of earnings and hours of work). The Committee invites the Government to refer to the definitions and the explanations provided, in particular, in Paragraph 5 of Recommendation No. 170. It notes that statistics of wage distribution are in fact compiled from the GHS and published in Hong Kong although they are statistics on the distribution not of employees but of "employed persons". The Committee also notes that statistics on the composition (i.e. structure) of earnings of employees are not compiled. It asks the Government to indicate the measures taken or contemplated to compile and publish such statistics.

Article 11.  The Committee notes that, while the reports indicate that statistics of labour cost as such are not compiled as a result of the declaration of the Government concerning the application of the Convention with modification, statistics of compensation of employees, which are available concerning Hong Kong, are accepted as a proxy to statistics of labour cost, and that their compilation is sufficient for the acceptance of Article 11. Thus, the Committee asks the Government to consider accepting the obligations of this Article.

Article 13.  The Committee asks the Government of Hong Kong to transmit to the ILO the latest publication containing the methodology and results from the 1994-95 survey (in accordance with Articles 5 and 6).

Article 17.  The Committee notes that the agricultural sector provides only a minimal contribution to the economy of Hong Kong. It also notes the indication in the Government’s report that the basic labour statistics compiled by the Census and Statistics Department do not cover the agricultural sector. This restriction applies to the statistics compiled under Articles 9, 10 and 11.