supported by pragmatic measures. We also pledged the Government to dedicate
support to the retail industry to sustain its competitiveness, particularly in the
speeding up of technology adoption and e-tailing development, for catching up with
the global trends of O2O integration.
In the 2017 Policy Address, we noted the Government's proposal on the progressive
abolishment of the "offsetting" of severance payments (SP) or long service payments
(LSP) with MPF contributions. However, the Association retained our view that
the MPF offsetting arrangement should not be abolished as it is not justified for
employers to pay double retirement benefits to employees, especially under the
current challenging business environment.
The Chief Executive also stated that the Government in this term will strive to map
out the working hours policy direction that suits Hong Kong's socio-economic
situation, taking full account of the report to be submitted by the Standard Working
Hours Committee (SWHC) by the end of January 2017.
While the SWHC report was yet to be published by the time I was composing this
message, the Association reiterate our stance that the legislation of standard working
hours will not alleviate the issue of lengthy working hours in Hong Kong. It should
be acknowledged that this prolonged problem is caused by the acute manpower
shortage in many industries.
For the election of CE in March 2017, our submission to the Policy Address will be
the backbone of the Association's advocacy to the CE candidates. We will maintain
a direct and consistent communication with the next term of Government so as to
safeguard the interests of the retail trade.
Let's set aside the discussion of policies and legislations for a while and talk about the
Association's events. Our Annual Dinner and Retail Award Presentation Ceremony
was successfully held on 6 December, 2016. I would like to express our earnest
thanks to our Guest of Honor, Mr. John Tsang, the then-Financial Secretary, for
officiating the event and presenting the trophies to the winning companies of the
"2016 Service Retailers of the Year" under our Mystery Shopper Programme.
With dedicated efforts and professional expertise from our Advisory Panel, I am very
proud to let you know that the Association's "Quality E-Shop Recognition Scheme"
has officially been launched in December 2016. To benchmark your e-shops with the
industry-wide standards and best practices for online retailing in Hong Kong, I am
sincerely inviting you to apply for this Recognition Scheme. You may check out the
details from our website.
In 2017, we will continue our best efforts to organize events and programmes
that meet our members' expectations and needs. I would like to take this chance
to remind our members to renew the memberships and to encourage the fellow
retailers to join this big family of retail to enjoy exclusive benefits and networking
opportunities.
Once again, may I wish you all a prosperous and fruitful year ahead!
亦促請政府為零售業提供重點支援，以保
持業界的競爭力，特別是加快引進創新科
技及網上零售發展，從而趕上全渠道整合
的全球趨勢。
在
2017
年的《施政報告》中，政府建議逐
步取消以強積金供款對沖遣散費或長期服務
金的機制，並列出數個具體的實施方式。然
而，協會仍然認為政府不應取消強積金對
沖，而在目前低迷的市況下，亦不應強制僱
主向僱員支付雙重退休安排。
行政長官亦表示，現屆政府將於任內致力制
定配合香港社會經濟環境的工時政策方針，
並充分考慮標準工時委員會於
2017
年
1
月底
提交的報告。雖然於執筆之際，委員會的報
告尚未發表，但協會再次重申，香港眾多行
業人手嚴重短缺，才是導致工時長的主因，
故標準工時立法並不能紓緩問題。
行政長官選舉將於
2017
年
3
月舉行，今年
協會提交的《施政報告》意見書重點圍繞
協會對行政長官候選人的倡議。協會將繼
續與政府交流，以便在下屆政府接任時，
更能代表零售業的利益。
除了積極參與政策及立法事宜，協會亦舉
辦多項活動。協會的周年晚會暨頒獎典禮
已於
2016
年
12
月
6
日圓滿舉行，衷心感謝
時任財政司司長曾俊華先生蒞臨主禮，並
向神秘顧客計劃「
2016
年最佳服務零售
商」的得獎機構頒發獎項。
感謝協會顧問小組的竭誠努力與提供專業
意見，我們已於
2016
年
12
月正式推出「優
質網店認證計劃」。計劃旨在為零售網店
提供全面客觀的評估，並為業界釐定優質
網店認可的指標，我誠意邀請大家申請優
質網店認證，詳情可參閱協會網站。
踏入
2017
年，協會將繼續竭盡所能，為會
員籌劃切合所需的活動和計劃。因此，希
望大家踴躍更新會籍，如各零售同業尚未
成為會員，歡迎在
2017
年加入成為協會
會員，以享受各種獨家禮遇，同時廣拓人
脈，發掘機遇。
再次祝各位新一年業務蒸蒸日上，財源
廣進！
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