
A study reveals over half of working carers in Hong Kong avoid family-friendly workplace measures due to fears of stigma, prompting experts to call for cultural changes.
AI-generated summary
A study released on Thursday examined the use of family-friendly measures among working carers in Hong Kong.
More than half of working carers in Hong Kong have never used the family-friendly measures offered by their companies, a study has found, sparking calls from experts to change workplace cultures to prevent carers being stigmatised.
The findings came even as the study, released on Thursday, also showed carers benefited from measures such as flexible working hours and working from home, which led to fewer symptoms of depression and reduced the burden of caregiving.
Bobo Lau Hi-po, a professor at the School of Arts and Humanities of Tung Wah College, who led the study, said some carers inevitably worried how colleagues viewed them when they took leave repeatedly for caregiving matters, pointing to “a certain degree of labelling”.

The Ministry of Labor and the Philippines signed a new version of the direct employment program MOU, which expands the direct employment categories to include institutional care, fishing, agriculture, forestry and animal husbandry, and includes technical manpower in the tourism and accommodation industry. It aims to relieve the pressure of domestic labor shortages through a country-to-country mechanism. It will take effect after both parties complete internal administrative procedures.

The Taipei City Government will now open online registration for the 11th employment selection in 2015 and will close at 5 pm on November 9. The selection examination is expected to be held on November 29. There are 238 vacancies released this time, and 57 municipal government agencies are participating. The positions include social workers, case managers, academic innovation personnel, etc., with monthly salaries up to 72,000 yuan.
The Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security jointly issued the "Implementation Measures for the Vocational Qualification Examination for Junior and Intermediate Elder Care Service Providers", which will come into effect on the date of issuance. The exam consists of two subjects and is organized once a year in principle. The results are managed on a two-year rolling basis. The test sites are in principle arranged in universities and colleges in provincial capitals and municipalities directly under the Central Government.

According to actual tests, reporters found that part-time jobs for face and voice licensing, which claim to be monetized by uploading photos and recordings, range in price from 50 yuan to 99,999 yuan, with some platforms taking a 30% to 40% share. The "three openings" of pricing, transaction, and exit in the licensing agreement are controlled by the platform. Experts remind that faces and voices are sensitive personal information, and there are risks such as leakage, AI face-changing fraud, and difficulty in providing evidence for rights protection.

Pan Hongying won the lawsuit for sexual harassment in the workplace and was awarded 11,200 yuan in compensation. The article points out that "soft violence" in the workplace is hidden and has blurred boundaries, making it difficult for workers to identify and provide evidence. Experts recommend improving the identification and relief system for mental injuries in the workplace, reasonably allocating the burden of proof, and legislating employers' prevention and treatment obligations.

An explosion and fire broke out in the Hsinchu factory of Taiwan's Panasonic Multilayer Materials Company in the early morning. Five employees were injured and sent to the hospital, and two employees working the night shift of ingredients were missing. The shock wave of the explosion caused the glass doors and windows of surrounding factories and many residential houses to shatter. The mayor of Hukou Township said that the company promised to be fully responsible for the damage to neighbors, and the fire department has launched an active service mechanism for occupational accidents and labor cases.