Hong Kong authorities have halted a scheme to import construction workers from outside the city after more than 120 migrant labourers complained of being cheated out of wages.

The move was welcomed by the Hong Kong Construction Industry Employees General Union…

The bureau set a total quota of 12,000 workers last July to ease a manpower crunch in the construction sector. The government has approved 9,731 workers to date.

Under the scheme, non-local workers are required to seek jobs in Hong Kong through authorised mainland Chinese agents. Once they arrive in Hong Kong, employers will usually commission local agents to manage them.

The union said last Wednesday that agents had threatened to fire workers after taking some of their wages, and that some workers had been charged extra fees and made to work without pay. None of the workers involved appeared at the press conference out of fear of reprisals, the union said.

The Development Bureau said it had the ability to cancel quotas or suspend new applications before prosecutions were completed, and that contractors found to have breached the law would stand a lower chance at winning tenders in the future…