REVISED CIC/SBC/R/001/09 Construction Industry Council ...

REVISEDCIC/SBC/R/001/09Construction Industry CouncilCommittee on SubcontractingThe 1 st Meeting of the Committee on Subcontracting for 2009 was held on Tuesday,13 January 2009 at 2:30 pm at Room 1201, Murray Building, Garden Road, Central.Present: LEE Shing-see (SSL) ChairmanJames CHIU (JC)CHOI Chun-wa (CWC)Edgar KWAN (EK)TSE Chun-yuen (CYT)Conrad WONG (CW)YU Wai-wai (WWY)CHEUNG Tak-hing (THC) Construction Site Workers GeneralUnionPaul CHONG (PC) The Hong Kong Federation ofElectrical and Mechanical ContractorsC S SO (CSS) Henderson Land Development Co.Ltd.WONG Sing-lam (SLW) Contractor’s Authorized SignatoryAssociationSonia YUNG (SY) Housing DepartmentTSO Sing-hin (SHT) Labour DepartmentFUNG Chi-keung (CKF) Water Supplies DepartmentIn Attendance: Alan AU (AA) Development BureauTAO Kei-hung (KHT) Development BureauK K CHONG (KKC) Development BureauIvan WONG (IW) Senior Manager (Council Services) 2Phoebe LEUNG (PLG) Manager (Council Services) 2Apologies: Teresa CHENG (TC)CHEUNG Tat-tong (TTC)Stanley HUI (SH)WAN Koon-sun (KSW)Ada FUNG (AF) for Permanent Secretary for Transportand Housing (Housing)Bernard HUI (BH) The Hong Kong Institute of ArchitectsHUI Siu-wai (SWH) Buildings DepartmentLAI Chi-hung (CHL) Hong Kong Construction IndustryEmployees’ General Union1

REVISEDCIC/SBC/R/001/09Action1.3 Security of PaymentA Member raised that some workers had directlyapproached government departments in respect of thedeferred payments owed by their employers withoutattempting to contact the Labour Relations Officer forliaison. Members acknowledged that workers shouldproperly exercise their rights to recover payments throughestablished communication channels.1.3.1 Research Brief on the Survey of Problems of OutstandingPayments in Construction Supply Chain (Survey)Members took note of the Paper CIC/SBC/P/001/09 andendorsed the research brief which had been duly reviewedby the Task Force led by Mr Bernard HUI. The approvedresearch brief, subject to appropriate fine-tuning by theTask Force, would be sent to the service provider forproposal submission. The Secretariat clarified that as thebudget for the Survey was already endorsed by CIC at itsmeeting held on 31 October 2008, the next steps requiredwould be reviewing the proposal from the service providerand concluding the service contract.In respect of the target respondents, Members advised that acompany might play multiple roles in the constructionsupply chain. The Task Force was advised to address suchissue when designing the questionnaires.TF-Survey[Post-meeting notes: based on the endorsed research brief,the service provider submitted a proposal to the Secretariaton 6 February 2009.]1.3.2 Identifying Possible Solutions for Study in the Context ofLocal Construction IndustryMembers took note of the Paper CIC/SBC/P/002/09 and3

REVISEDCIC/SBC/R/001/09Actionpersons connected with the construction industry throughestablishing or administering registration schemes, Membersstrongly agreed that CIC should own and administer the VoluntarySubcontractor Registration Scheme (VSRS) directly instead ofholding the VSRS through PCICB Registration Limited (PRL) or anew subsidiary. As to the risks involved in operating the VSRS byCIC, proper insurance arrangements should be made to mitigate theconcerned exposure. The Secretariat was also advised to considerif legal advice would be required to clarify the suitable arrangementin order to effect the transfer of ownership of the VSRS from PRL toCIC.After deliberation, the Committee recommended that CIC shouldtake on the VSRS directly on or before 31 December 2009 with PRLbeing wound up upon completion of the necessary formalities.CICSecretariat1.5 Updated Task Force Membership for the Stage 2 VSRSMembers took note of the Paper CIC/SBC/P/004/09.Members thanked Mr TSE Chun-yuen for leading the Task Forcewhich would convene a meeting on 19 January 2009 to discuss thesetting of the entry requirements and limits for the parameters underthe Stage 2 VSRS and the timeline for finalizing the proposal.It was clarified that the proposal submitted by the Task Force wouldbe considered by the Committee before subsequent industryconsultation.[Post-meeting notes: for clarity, the terms of reference of the TaskForce on the Stage 2 VSRS was revised at Annex A.]1.6 Any Other BusinessMembers noted that the Guidelines on Administration Charges forReporting of Site Accidents were uploaded to the CIC website and5

REVISEDCIC/SBC/R/001/09Actionthe Secretariat had issued a letter to stakeholders inviting them todownload a copy for reference.A Member commented that CIC played a rather passive role in theimplementation of such recommended practices as the guidelineswere only set out for voluntary adoption by the industry. TheCommittee recommended CIC to further discuss the subject ofmonitoring and promulgation.CICSecretariat1.7 Tentative Date of Next Meeting for 200910 March 2009 (Tuesday) at 2:30 pm at Room 1201, MurrayBuilding, Central, Hong KongAll to noteThere being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 4:20 pm.CIC SecretariatMarch 20096