MR YIU SI-WING (in Cantonese): Deputy President, it is normal that a wife wishes to have her husband's company and care after giving birth. It is also an undeniable fact that there are more and more voices from different places in the world asking to increase paternity leave and, of course, Hong Kong is no exception. Hence, after a consensus has been reached between employees and employers, the Government decides to increase paternity leave from three days, which has been implemented since 2015, to five days, in order to respond to the aspiration of society. This is also a result of the joint efforts of the employee representatives and employer representatives in the Labour Advisory Board ("LAB").

In Hong Kong, over 90% of the companies are small and medium enterprises ("SMEs") and micro enterprises, and it is the same in the sector of travel agencies. The companies mentioned by Dr Fernando CHEUNG earlier are large enterprises, but we have to look at the problems faced by SMEs and micro enterprises. Most of these companies only employ three to five staff members, or even less. Let me take our trade, travel agencies, as an example. In the face of Internet competition and direct marketing of product suppliers, our operation is very difficult. Hence, under general circumstances, we will not increase manpower so easily, and companies will recruit a small number of staff each time only when it is absolutely necessary to fill a vacancy.

The work of travel agencies is rather complicated, which includes dealing with immigration procedures, package tours and individual visit products, and different customers have different service requirements. Even general staff will need to go through basic training to attain a certain level of professional skills in order to meet the various requirements of customers. In case there are any mistakes or omissions due to their carelessness, the itineraries of customers will be affected and both customers and the company will suffer losses. Therefore, when a staff member is on leave, the employers will have to be very cautious in staff deployment so as not to affect the service quality. However, as I just mentioned, it is rather hard to find a suitable substitute worker with multiple working skills. Even if he can be identified, it is also difficult for him to meet the working requirements concerned. Hence, finding these substitute workers is not an easy task. I reckon that other similar SMEs and micro enterprises in the service industry are actually facing the same problem. Therefore, any changes to the existing leave arrangement have to be prudently handled. We cannot only consider the pressure of employees but neglect the difficulties faced by employers who are SMEs and micro enterprises.

Deputy President, the Policy Address released lately suggests abolishing the offsetting arrangement under the Mandatory Provident Fund ("MPF") scheme and enhancing maternity leave. And this time, the Administration suggests legislation on increasing the paternity leave days. On top of the said additional burden, there will also be potential impact on the Hong Kong economy arising from the recent trade war between China and the United States, which means that enterprises are going to face greater pressure. As I mentioned earlier, while SMEs and micro enterprises have greater pressure in manpower deployment, they are also in lack of flexibility in terms of capital. Hence, the introduction of each strategy benefiting the employees will bring heavy capital burden on SMEs and micro enterprises. Large-scale companies and corporations, with their rich resources, can surely cope with market changes. Since it is easier for them to make manpower deployment arrangements, the impact on them will be limited. However, the situation is much more difficult for SMEs and micro enterprises. Following the introduction of more strategies restricting the enterprises, they will be those who suffer most directly. If this situation goes on, large-scale corporations and enterprises will further monopolize the market in Hong Kong. I hope that the Government can take this into consideration in its policy formulation, and Legislative Council Members can also pay attention to this in their deliberation of the legislation. The names referred to by Dr Fernando CHEUNG earlier are large-scale enterprises and corporations and they certainly possess abundant resources. But let us think about this question: What about the remaining 90% of enterprises which are SMEs and micro enterprises? I hope Members can give more consideration to this aspect.

Deputy President, a Member proposed an amendment, asking to set a regular review timetable on the paternity leave arrangement. Although this amendment has been ruled by the President as inadmissible and thus could not be proposed in this Council, I still want to stress again that if policy adjustments are too frequent, it will impose a heavier workload on various parties and put a strain on our manpower and finances. At the same time, in view of the complicated and frequently changing political and economic environment which is full of uncertainties, I think it is better to stay put rather than making changes. Let us imagine that if a regular annual review mechanism is set up for paternity leave, under public pressure, paternity leave benefits will definitely not be downwardly adjusted in each review. Even if it is decided that no change will be introduced, I guess the employee representatives in LAB will not accept the decision and will insist on making an upward adjustment. Should that be the case, what would happen after a few years? The number of paternity leave days will multiply. How, then, can SMEs and micro enterprises withstand the impact? SMEs and micro enterprises form a major force behind Hong Kong's economic development and also serve as one of the starting points encouraging young people to start their own businesses. If the threshold of business operation is being raised incessantly, the competitiveness of enterprises will be further weakened, the burden on young people in starting businesses will be heavier and the room for survival of SMEs and micro enterprises will also be affected.

Deputy President, Hong Kong has long been improving our labour welfare in a gradual and orderly manner, from nothing to something, from less to more, and from unregulated to regulated. In the process of improving labour treatment, the Government is playing the role of a coordinator. It has set up a communication platform for employees and employers so that both sides can reach a consensus on some issues of common concern, and I think it is a feasible way. As we all know, minimum wage and this paternity leave arrangement are the results of their consensus. In fact, no matter how we enhance the welfare, some people in society will still find it insufficient. If Members only consider the interests of the stakeholders that they represent, insistent on their own views and fail to take the overall interests of the territory as their prime concern, employees and employers will lose their mutual trust, thereby rendering the path to reach a consensus more difficult. As such, I think that regarding this paternity leave issue, as the Government has already achieved a result after consulting the views of LAB in accordance with the mechanism, we Legislative Council Members should respect this mechanism which has been working effectively.

We should proceed step by step in a gradual and orderly manner and avoid complicating the issue, lest any adverse effect will be created. For these reasons, I will not support the amendments to be moved by various Members.

With these remarks, Deputy President, I support the Government's amendment.