Resignations at Hong Kong’s social worker body labelled ‘protest’ as chairman quits – Technologist

Ng confirmed to the Post on Saturday that he had resigned from his position on Friday night, but declined to comment further.

Apart from Ng, another six elected members – deputy chairwoman Toby Ho Sze-man, Chan Kwok-bong, Adino Chung Wai-lun, Lam Chiu-wan, Phyllis Luk Fung-ping and Grace Wong Kam-kuen – also quit over the past two weeks.

The wave of resignations has left only one elected member, Oscar Lai Man-lok, on the board. Lai earlier told the media that he would attend the oath-taking ceremony on July 5 for members of the new board.

The Social Workers Registration Ordinance empowers the board to handle the registration of social workers, as well as disciplinary matters.

Earlier in May, the city’s key decision-making Executive Council backed the government’s proposed amendments to the ordinance to increase the size of the board from 15 to 27 with more government-appointed members than elected ones.

The decision followed accusations by Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han who said the board failed to take concrete action to prevent people convicted of national security offences from registering as social workers.

Under the amendments, the number of elected board members will remain at eight. But the appointed members will increase from six to 17.

The body will also be empowered to promptly deregister social workers convicted of certain crimes and permanently disqualify those involved in serious offences such as endangering national security.

An outspoken social worker Eddie Tse Sai-kit said he believed elected board members who left were disheartened by the authorities’ attacks on the board and its reform giving more influence to government appointees.

He said that although the members’ resignation would not impact the board or the sector in the short term, the amended legislation would have a huge impact on the industry in the long run and push more people to leave while discouraging others from joining.

“It will impact the entire sector, including the professional autonomy of the industry, the right to speak on social issues and the morale of the sector, and suppress the work of social workers especially on advocacy, justice and equality,” he said.

Tse accused the government for destroying the relations between authorities and social workers.

Lau Siu-kai, a consultant of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies, called the resignations a “protest” against the reform of the body that he said was previously dominated by “radical” pro-democratic members.

“The majority of the members on the board were pro-democratic, and that’s why they adopted a relatively lenient attitude when maintaining social worker discipline and punishing social workers,” he said, referring to the body’s handling of workers involved in national security offences.

“This led to the government’s dissatisfaction and its decision to restructure the board.”

Lau said the government’s overhaul was intended to prevent the board from shielding offenders and ensure that registered professionals upheld professional ethical standards.

“Under the new environment, social workers should also shoulder responsibilities and must not do anything to undermine Hong Kong’s stability and threaten national security,” he said.

Lawmaker Peter Douglas Koon Ho-ming called the resignations “irrational”.

“There is no malicious intention behind the amendment itself, which is simply intended to make the board more transparent,” he said.

He warned the resignations could impact the sector’s reputation and stir up conflict among social workers, urging professionals not to adopt a hostile attitude towards the amendments.

In a reply to the Post on Saturday, the Labour and Welfare Bureau said it had no additional comment other than the remarks by labour chief Sun the previous day.

Sun said on Friday that the resignation of several elected members would not affect the operation of the board.

“This is their own decision. As for whether their resignation will have an impact on the operation of the board, I can say clearly that the new amendments are very clear, and even if a member resigns, it will not affect the board’s operation,” he said.

The Social Workers Registration (Amendment) Bill 2024 was introduced into the legislature last month for scrutiny.

Lawmakers are expected to proceed to the second and third reading on Wednesday.

Sun said if the bill was passed, the previous body would cease operation after it was gazetted on July 5, when relevant members were to take an oath as part of the transition to a new board.

The oath will require them to uphold the Basic Law, the city’s mini-constitution, and bear allegiance to the city under the new amendments.

Minister Sun earlier defended the reform in a Post’s interview, saying the move was needed to “bring the board on track”, adding that he was not worried the move would strain relations between authorities and social workers or affect future cooperation.