With regard to government policies and legislation, the Competition
Commission published its Revised Draft Guidelines in March 2015. The
Association is keeping an eye on the implementation of the Competition
Ordinance and its implications on the retail sector. We submitted our
members’ views and concerns to the Competition Commission, particularly
about the Guideline on the First Conduct Rule (FCR Guideline). The FCR
Guideline captures the vertical agreements between businesses at different
levels of the supply chain, such as franchising, concession and consignment,
which are very common types of business arrangements in the retail sector. To
keep our members abreast of the Competition Ordinance, the Association will
organize briefing sessions to highlight the rules and examples that are relevant
to retail trades once the Guidelines are finalized.
While the city is still building a consensus on how to regulate working hours
in Hong Kong, the Standard Working Hours Committee (SWHC) has agreed
on a legislative approach to regulate working hours, including a mandatory
requirement to specify working hours in employment contracts. The SWHC
has also ruled out an “across-the-board” legislative approach in order to be
more flexible on the working hours policy.
Standard working hours is a highly complicated and far-reaching piece of
legislation for Hong Kong. The Association believes that the Government
should adopt a cautious approach by conducting relevant assessments before
regulating the working hours.
In the 2014-2015 budget, the Financial Secretary set aside HK$130 million for
the first time ever to support the many initiatives aimed at developing new
talent for the retail sector. I would like to give you an update, particularly on
the retail industry promotion campaign and the Earn & Learn Pilot Scheme for
Retail Industry.
With a view to promulgating the industry’s professionalism and to attract a
quality workforce, a three-year campaign to raise the retail industry’s image
will be launched with the theme “Retail has it all”. The Association has been
working closely with the Government on the campaign’s deliverables, which
include a series of Announcements for Public Interest (API), print/online
advertisements as well as promotion via social media.
Starting from the end of June, the first API to promote retail professionalism
and its diverse career opportunities will be broadcast on TV and radio. There
will also be a dedicated Retail Portal (
/) which includes
relevant information about the industry. I am sure that the campaign will be
able to raise the public’s awareness of the contribution of the retail sector and
attract more people to consider joining us.
公共政策及立法方面，競爭事務委員會於
2015
年
3
月發表《競爭條例》修訂草擬指引，
協會正密切留意《競爭條例》的實施情況及其
對零售業的影響。我們已向競爭事務委員會反
映會員的意見及憂慮，尤其對《第一行為守則
指引》的看法。《第一行為守則指引》涵蓋供
應鏈不同層面之間的垂直協議，例如專營權、
特許權及分銷協議，這些皆為零售業常見的業
務安排。為了協助會員緊貼《競爭條例》的最
新進展，協會將會舉辦簡介會，講解落實《競
爭條例》修訂草擬指引後業界須留意的守則及
例子。
另一方面，香港市民對規管工時的方法意見紛
紜，而標準工時委員會同意以立法方式落實政
策，以規管標準工時，包括強制要求僱主於僱傭
合約中列明工時安排。委員會亦排除劃一規管立
法的可能性，令標準工時政策更具彈性。
制定標準工時法例是非常複雜的議題，影響
深遠。我們認為政府應先審慎評估，才落實
規管。
於
2014-2015
年財政預算案中，財政司司長首次
撥出
1.3
億港元，以舉辦各類培育零售業人才的
計劃。我們謹此匯報提升業界形象宣傳計劃及零
售業「職」學創前路先導計劃的進展。
為了提升零售業的專業形象及吸引人才，政府
以「零售乜都有
前程在我手」為主題，策動
為期三年的宣傳計劃。協會一直與政府通力合
作，構思計劃的宣傳廣告、報章／網上廣告及
社交媒體宣傳活動。
首個宣傳廣告將於六月底起透過電視及電台
播放，介紹業界的專業形象及多元事業發展
機會。此外，政府亦設立零售業專題網站
（
），網羅業界的相
關資訊。相信宣傳計劃將讓市民深入了解零售
業的貢獻，繼而吸引更多優秀人才加盟。
4
