Employment is a major area where ethnic minorities (EMs) in Hong Kong face discrimination and prejudice. The EOC has been fighting for their equal access to employment opportunities through providing policy advocacy to the Government and raising public awareness of the issue.

On 9 January, the EOC made a submission to the Legislative Council Subcommittee on Rights of Ethnic Minorities to highlight the employment challenges encountered by EMs and their rights under the Race Discrimination Ordinance. The paper also mentioned the EOC’s initiatives to help EMs gain equal employment opportunities, including cultural sensitivity training, organised with the Labour Department since November 2016 for the frontline staff at the Department’s Job Centres, and briefing sessions on career opportunities in mainstream industries for EM students, career masters and teachers from secondary schools.
 
The EOC also urged the Government again to take the lead in hiring EMs by opening up more civil service jobs for EMs, besides implementing support measures like the provision of interpretation services and full-time professional staff conversant in EM languages at the Job Centres, and better screening and job matching for EM job seekers.
 
Meanwhile, on the abovementioned briefing sessions on career opportunities for EM students, the EOC produced a short video of the inaugural session held on 16 December 2016, which features interviews with students, teachers and employers.

Read the EOC’s Submission to the LegCo Subcommittee on Rights of Ethnic Minorities
Watch the video on the career briefing session for EM students
Read the press release on the career briefing session for EM students

The Chief Executive made his 2017 Policy Address last Wednesday (18 January). We are pleased to read in the Policy Agenda that the Government will initiate discussion with the Legislative Council on the prioritised recommendations under the Discrimination Law Review conducted by the EOC. The proposed legislative amendments will not only modernise the existing anti-discrimination legislation, but also offer better protection for the marginalised groups in society. We will definitely continue to provide the Government with the necessary information in order to take forward the legislative proposals, and we look forward to working with the Government to advance equality for all in our community.

Read the 2017 Policy Address Policy Agenda
Read the EOC’s press release on its response to the 2017 Policy Address
Read EOC Chairperson’s latest column article on the 2017 Policy Address (Chinese only)

We are pleased that in 2016, our colleagues and their families and friends performed a total of 1,508 hours of service for the community, making the EOC eligible for the Gold Certificate issued by the Social Welfare Department under its Volunteer Movement programme. Three volunteers were also individually awarded the Silver and Bronze certificates for having done over 100 and 50 hours of community service respectively. Our volunteering activities included regular visits and outings with students with severe mental disabilities and fundraising for NGOs.

Additionally, the EOC has again been awarded the Caring Organisation logo by the Hong Kong Council of Social Service in recognition of our commitment to caring for the community, our employees and the environment.

Find out more about the Volunteer Movement by the Social Welfare Department

As part of its three-year “Joyful@HK” campaign which aims at promoting the importance of mental health, the Department of Health has rolled out the “Your Joyful Record” video competition. All Hong Kong residents are welcome to submit short videos that showcase one of three themes, namely the practice of “SME” (Sharing, Mind, Enjoyment), ways to handle challenges with a positive attitude, and the promotion of a help-seeking and supportive culture in the community. Members of the public can join the Open Category while secondary school students can take part in the Junior and Senior Secondary Category. The submission deadlines for the two categories are 10 March and 10 May respectively. For details, please refer to the Joyful@HK website.

See the details of the “Your Joyful Record” video competition