Workers’ representatives met Thursday with the Labor Secretary, who they said promised to take steps to end the exploitation of migrant workers.

Mainland employees seeking work in Hong Kong under various labor import schemes must apply through approved agents, who reportedly charge fees of up to tens of thousands of dollars.

After a meeting with Secretary of Labor and Social Protection Chris Sun, a worker representative at the Labor Advisory Council, Lam Wai-kong, said the minister had promised to take legal and administrative measures to resolve the problem.

“In fact, the secretary did not specify what the legal and administrative procedures would be. But from my own understanding, the salary of imported workers should be based on the median salary of local workers. If they are not paid properly, it means the officers have broken the law,” he said.

“Regarding the administrative steps, in the process of verifying individual labor import applications, I believe that the Labor and Social Welfare Bureau has the capacity to make changes to decide whether each case is approved or not.”

Lam added that Sun also agreed to review labor import programs earlier, instead of waiting every two years.

Meanwhile, another board representative, Jenny Tam, also expressed concern about the government’s plan to hire 10,000 skilled workers aged 35 or younger over the next three years.

“The secretary cited as an example the shortage of top-notch electricians. But we think there are actually enough workers in this field, many of whom have bachelor’s degrees. We are concerned that importing more workers will affect local employment,” she said.

Tam added that Sun responded by saying officials would be careful and listen to different points of view.