Government plans to overhaul the Social Workers Registration Board reflect a distrustful attitude to social workers, a union has said, claiming that authorities’ undervalue the sector.
The Hong Kong Social Workers’ General Union, established in 1980, said on Facebook on Sunday that – while it expected the licensing body would be revamped – it was surprised by the speed of the government’s move, which left little space for discussion or consultation.
The city’s welfare chief Chris Sun wrote on May 10 on Facebook that the licensing body was failing to bar those convicted of national security offences from registration, whilst one social worker – who faced trial over rioting – had joined a governing committee.
Sun said that the Social Worker Registration Ordinance was revised in 2022 to prevent anyone who committed crimes of national security from being registered as a social worker, however, the licensing body had not introduced new mechanism based on the law amendment.
“These incidents reflect that we need to improve the governance of the Social Workers Registration Board in order to safeguard national security, protect the public interest and to enhance the orderly development of the social work profession, ” Sun said in Chinese.
Four days later, last Tuesday, Chief Executive John Lee and the Executive Committee passed the proposed bill to overhaul the licensing body. The bill will be introduced to the legislature for a first and second reading on Wednesday.
The union said such a swift drive to change the system was rare for the profession. “And there is little room for discussion. The language used is severe and the attitude is firm. This is not a familiar culture that the social welfare sector is accustomed to,” the union said in Chinese.
It added that the overhaul plan, which will largely reduce the percentage of peer-elected members in the licencing body and introduce new mechanisms to deregister social workers, “reflected that the Labour and Welfare Bureau did not trust social workers.”
“It is a repudiation of the social work value,” the union said.
No. of elected members reduced to 30%
According to the proposed bill, the number of board members on the licensing body will be increased to 27, among which two will be government representatives and 17 will be government appointed members. The number of peer-elected members will be slashed to 30 per cent.
The proposal also states that the board should permanently remove the registration of social workersconvicted of offences including endangering national security, ill-treating a child, as well as indecent assault.
Currently, there are eight peer-elected members on the board of the licensing body, six government-appointed members and one government representative. “Social work is a profession of practice. It’s critical to have experience and knowledge of frontline workers [on the board] to truly demonstrate the value and professional ethic of social work, ” the union said.
Meeting with board members
According to the Bureau’s Facebook, Sun met all members of the licensing body on Monday. He said he was glad to know that “some members” supported moves to “improve” governance.
Sun added that – following the “reform” – the licensing body will see 14 members who are registered social workers, demonstrating a respect for the profession.
“The new mechanism is not to bar ex-offenders from working as social workers. However, as a profession facing vulnerable groups, the registration body should strike the right balance, weighing the individual and public interest, and handling registration procedures with prudence, ” Sun said in Chinese.
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