97499 St.S.
NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN IN THIS MARGIN
Registry
No. HWB.18/2/14
12/14
Top Secret. Secret. Confidential. Restricted. Unclassified.
DRAFT letter from S. of S.Type 1 +
To:-
From
華
Mrs. Lena Jeger, M.P.
Telephone No. & Ext.
Department
I am very sorry that it has taken so long
to give you our reply about the complaints of
Oriental Domestics. (You letter of 31 July to
Herbert Bowden).
Mr. Burn's general complaint is that the
contract preferred by the Hong Kong Commissioner
of Labour is over favourable to the worker, and
he adduces legal advice to the effect that a
number of its clauses are ultra vires. The
complaint arises largely from a misunderstanding.
The contract is not one upon which the
Commissioner insists but a Model for which he
thinks the worker would be well advised to press.
The main difficulty arises over the matter of
passages. Mr. Burn complains that an
unscrupulous worker can get himself to this
country a an employer's expense and then walk
but to a better paid position with someone else.
As Ray Gunter informed you in his letter of
23 December the Ministry of Labour have
considered this matter, and believe that the
humber of such cases is very low. A foreign
worker who wishes to change his job must obtain
brior permission from the Ministry and though the
Ministry have no power to compel a man to remain
in any particular job, unreasonable requests for
a move are followed up. The number of such
cases may be even less now as a result of the
period of notice for terminating the contract
being increased from one month to three.
/(Mr. Burn