E-News  
  Issue 11 - 7 May 2010  
 
中文版
 
     
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  1. EOC’s Position on Minimum Wage Bill  
     
 
The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) welcomes the introduction of the Minimum Wage Bill and hopes that it will be implemented as soon as possible. The EOC is of the view that as a matter of principle, minimum wage protection should be extended to employees with disabilities. However, the Commission will not object to the proposal whereby employees with disabilities, on a voluntary basis, may opt to undergo a fair work assessment mechanism for wage assessment purpose. The EOC’s position addresses the need to protect the rights of all persons with disabilities, while recognizing diversity of their views and concerns.
 
     
 
The EOC has submitted a paper to the Bills Committee on Minimum Wage Bill on 4 May 2010, stating our response to the issues raised by Members of the Bills Committee at its meeting held on 29 April 2010 when examining the Minimum Wage Bill. The submission explained the scope of protection offered by the Disability Discrimination Ordinance (DDO) in respect of the dismissal of a person with a disability on account of the outcome of an assessment made under Schedule 2 to the Bill.
 
     
 

Link to EOC Chairperson’s recent speech on minimum wage

 
     
  Link to the Submision to the Bills Committee  
     
 
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  2. Funding Support for Community to Promote Equal Opportunities  
     
 
The EOC’s Community Participation Funding Programme (2010/11) is now open for application. Non-profit organizations are welcome to submit their proposals before application deadlines: 14 May 2010 (1st batch) and 31 July 2010 (2nd batch). The maximum funding limit for each community project is $50,000. The EOC has supported over 700 non-governmental organizations and schools in the past to carry out projects that promote public understanding of equal opportunities and the anti-discrimination laws.
 
     
 

Details on funding programme

 
     
 
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  3. Public Consultation on the revised Code of Practice on Employment under the DDO  
     
 
The public consultation on the Revised Code of Practice on Employment under the Disability Discrimination Ordinance (DDO) is now open and the EOC has scheduled four public consultation meetings on 17 April 2010, 8 May 2010, 22 May 2010 and 12 June 2010 in different districts during the three-month consultation period until 8 July 2010. All are welcome to attend the meetings to express their views. Accessible transport arrangement, sign language, Braille print, language interpretation and other special arrangement will be made upon request. The Chairperson of the EOC has attended a number of TV and radio interviews to explain our positions on the Code.
 
     
     
  Link to TV & radio interviews  
     
 
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  4. TV docu-drama “A Mission for Equal Opportunities 2009” scored the 20th place of 2009 TV Programme Appreciation Index Survey  
     
 
Our TV docu-drama series on discriminatory cases, entitled “A Mission for Equal Opportunities 2009” (非常平等任務 2009), has scored the 20th place of 2009 TV Programme Appreciation Index Survey conducted by the Public Opinion Programme, HKU. This TV drama series co-produced with Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) was well recognized by the audience. The issues including racial harmony, discrimination against people taking sick leave for the treatment of illness, disability discrimination in education and sexual harassment against domestic helpers were illustrated in the drama series.
 
     
  Link to the TV docu-drama