Firm awarded new contract to supply services at six pools despite failing to provide required staffing on seven occasions previously
A controversial decision by Hong Kong authorities to award a lifeguard and first aid services contract worth more than HK$122 million (US$15.6 million) to a company previously found to have failed to provide the required staffing at swimming pools has sparked concerns over whether public funds are being used prudently.
The Leisure and Cultural Services Department on Saturday defended the decision, saying it was satisfied with Spotlight Enterprises’ performance over the past two years and that it had strictly followed the government’s procurement procedures.
The department outsourced services at six public swimming pools in September 2024 in a trial scheme to tackle long-standing lifeguard shortages, awarding two contracts worth a total of HK$75.9 million to Spotlight Enterprises for two years of services.
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The pools were Island East, Tai Kok Tsui, Lam Tin, Tung Cheong Street, Tsing Yi Southwest and Ping Shan Tin Shui Wai.
A report by the Audit Commission last year said the contractor had failed to provide the required staffing on seven occasions between August 2024 and August 2025.
However, the department took up to 305 days to deduct payment from the contractor and up to 311 days to issue default notices. Some of these incidents were not recorded in monthly performance appraisal reports, as required.
At the time, the department told the commission that it would review the trial scheme’s implementation when the contract expired in July this year.
Nevertheless, according to the Government Logistics Department’s website, the company was awarded another tender in July. The contract was extended from two years to three, and its value rose to HK$122.78 million, representing a 7 per cent increase on an annualised basis.
The contract works out at an average of around HK$568,400 per swimming pool per month and a monthly budget of HK$50,000 per lifeguard as the contractor is required to deploy 68 staff members for the six pools each day.
While the contractor’s pay rates are unknown, a civil service lifeguard’s salary starts at around HK$19,000 to about HK$27,000, according to a job posting.
Nick Wu Kai-wing, vice-chairman of the Hong Kong and Kowloon Life Guards’ Union, criticised the arrangement as a waste of public funds.
“All six swimming pools are smaller in scale. They did not need many lifeguards,” he said.
According to Wu’s understanding, the six pools had no manpower problems to begin with, and that some lifeguards who had worked there were posted elsewhere to make way for the outsourced staff after the first contract was awarded.
He said Hong Kong faced a lifeguard shortage only in summer, and that the situation had recently improved because the union had worked with the government to cover extra shifts.
Some public swimming pools also close in winter, with their lifeguards redeployed to ones that remain open all year.
Wu said outsourcing services at the six pools had led to an oversupply of lifeguards in winter, especially among those from summer-only facilities.
He urged the authorities to limit the outsourcing arrangement to the summer peak season rather than all year.
Lawmaker Bill Tang Ka-piu urged the department to consider testing seasonal outsourcing arrangements at public pools to see whether it could save money.
“We could make some comparisons and then gradually implement the arrangements,” said Tang, chairman of the Legislative Council’s home affairs, culture and sports panel.
He suggested dividing swimming pools into groups, with some using year-round outsourcing contracts and others hiring external lifeguards only during peak seasons, allowing the department to compare their cost-effectiveness.
Tang warned that a highly concentrated market among service providers could undermine the expected benefits of outsourcing, stressing the need to guard against anticompetitive practices in government tendering.
The department said it was satisfied with the contractor’s performance.
“Over the past two years, all six swimming pools operated smoothly, and outsourcing lifeguard and first aid services was found to be effective,” it said.
“All swimming pools remained open to the public and did not close due to a manpower shortage of lifeguards.”
The department said it had strictly followed government procurement procedures by reopening the tender for the services and taking into consideration price, management plans, innovation proposals, bidders’ experience and relevant certifications.
“The increase in the new contract price is mainly due to the tight manpower supply in the market, which requires the contractor to offer competitive pay and benefits to recruit lifeguards, as well as establish a backup manpower deployment mechanism to keep the pool facilities open,” it said.
“Rising inflation has also increased the operational costs in technical input and management.”
It added that the trial was part of a multipronged approach to address the recruitment challenge, saying the number of private swimming pools had increased to around 1,400, while the number of people joining the life-saving industry was declining.
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This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (www.scmp.com), the leading news media reporting on China and Asia.
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