Information Relating To The Regulation Of Employment Agencies In Hong Kong

Taylor Amarel made this Freedom of Information request to Labour Department

This request has been closed to new correspondence from the public body. Contact us if you think it ought be re-opened.

The request was partially successful.

Dear Labour Department,

For academic and research purposes, I would like to request the following information. Given the volume of information requested, please let me know if additional time is needed.

If your office does not have data responsive to one of the questions, please provide any supplementary data that is similar or an explanation of whether the data may be held with another government department.

Part A: Current Information and Statistics

1.) The present number of open investigations against EAs by category:
-The number of investigations against EAs claiming to provide Foreign Domestic Worker placement services:
-The number of investigations against EAs not claiming to provide Foreign Domestic Worker placement services:

2.) The present number of agencies subject to ongoing court proceedings by category:
-The number of agencies that claim to provide Foreign Domestic Worker placement services subject to ongoing court proceedings:
-The number of agencies that do not claim to provide Foreign Domestic Worker placement services subject to ongoing court proceedings:

Part B: Monthly Information and Statistics

3.) The monthly number of complaints against EAs claiming to provide foreign domestic worker placement services:
-September 2019:
-October 2019:
-November 2019:
-December 2019:

4.) The monthly number EAs that have been complained against. (For example: If only one EA was subject to 10 complaints within January 2017, the # of EA’s complained against should be 1. However, if 2 different EAs are subject to 5 complaints each, the # of EA’s complained against should be 2.)
-September 2019:
-October 2019:
-November 2019:
-December 2019:

5.) The monthly number of licensed EAs:
-September 2019:
-October 2019:
-November 2019:
-December 2019:

6.) The monthly number of licensed EAs claiming to provide foreign domestic worker placement services:
-September 2019:
-October 2019:
-November 2019:
-December 2019:

7.) The monthly number of EA inspections:
-September 2019:
-October 2019:
-November 2019:
-December 2019:

8.) The monthly number of EA inspections of EAs claiming to provide foreign domestic worker placement services:
-September 2019:
-October 2019:
-November 2019:
-December 2019:

9.) The monthly number of EA investigations opened:
-September 2019:
-October 2019
-November 2019:
-December 2019:

10.) The monthly number of EA investigations opened relating to EAs that claim to provide foreign domestic worker placement services:
-September 2019:
-October 2019:
-November 2019:
-December 2019:

11.) The monthly number of statements taken from complainants against agencies claiming to provide foreign domestic worker placement services:
-September 2019:
-October 2019:
-November 2019:
-December 2019:

12.) The monthly number of EA cases that were dismissed by a judge, withdrawn by the prosecution, or resulted in an acquittal:
-September 2019:
-October 2019:
-November 2019:
-December 2019:

13.) The monthly number of court cases reaching a conclusion (conviction or acquittal) and the relevant court case identification numbers, specifically for EAs claiming to provide foreign domestic worker placement services:
-September 2019:
-October 2019:
-November 2019:
-December 2019:

Part C: Yearly Information and Statistics

14.) The yearly number of cases that have undergone joint investigation protocol procedures as mentioned by the Chief Secretary for Administration’s Office, Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, in this official blog post - https://www.cso.gov.hk/eng/blog/blog2019...
-2019:

Yours faithfully,

Taylor Amarel

Labour Department

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Taylor Amarel,

I refer to your request for information (AIO 71/2019) made under the Code
on Access to Information (the Code) which was received by this Department
on 24 December 2019 (a copy of which is attached).  

Please be informed that your request is now under processing.  According
to paragraph 1.16 of the Code, our department will inform you of the
latest progress of the request on or before 10 January 2020 (Friday).  In
the meantime, please contact me at 2115 8315 if you have any enquiry.

Regards,
Cecilia Yu
Employment Agencies Administration
Labour Department

Labour Department

2 Attachments

Dear Mr Taylor Amarel,

        I refer to your request for information under the Code on Access
to Information ("the Code") received by this Department on 23 December
2019.  A copy of which is attached.

2.        Pursuant to paragraphs 1.14 and 2.9(d) of the Code, the Code
does not oblige department to, among others, create a record which does
not exist; and a department may refuse to disclose information if the
information requested could only be made available by unreasonable
diversion of a department’s resources.  For the above reasons, we are not
able to provide the information requested in your questions 1, 4 and 11.  

3.        The information requested in your remaining questions is
provided in blue text in the attached file.  

4.        As provided under the Code, I would like to inform you of the
right to review, i.e. if you believe our Department has failed to comply
with any provision of the Code, you may write to ask our Department to
review the situation or consider lodging a complaint to the Ombudsman.
 The Ombudsman’s contacts are as below:

Address: 30/F., China Merchants Tower, Shun Tak Centre
168-200 Connaught Road Central, Hong Kong
Telephone number: (852) 2629 0555
Fax number: (852) 2882 8149

5.        Should you have queries, please contact the undersigned at 2115
8315.

Regards,
Cecilia Yu
Employment Agencies Administration
Labour Department