Fédération Internationale des Travailleurs des Industries
du Textile et de l'Habillement
PRESIDENT:
JOHN E. NEWTON
VICE-PRESEKUMPE:
K. BUSCHMANN
Internationale Textil- und Bekleidungsarbeiter-Vereinigung
Internationella Textil- och Beklädnadsarbetareføderationen
INTERNATIONAL TEXTILE AND
GARMENT WORKERS' FEDERATION
120 BAKER STREET, LONDON, W.1
GENERAL SECRETARY: J. GREENHALGH all communications should be addressed
3.
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TELEPHOME:
WELsick 1745
TELEGRAM ADDRESS:
WORKINTEX, London, W.1
alter the fact that the employer flouted the decision of the Commissioner of Labour, and so far as I know, nething ma done about it. However, that is his concern. I do not need to mention what 'loss of face' means to the orientais, and I cannot in these circumstances, understand the calm acceptance of the situation. My concern however, is the affect that it will have upon workers and employers. On the one hand, workers can never again have any faith in the validity of any agreement made with the employers, and on the other hand, the employers must rejoice to find that it is possible to act in such a manner with impunity.
I am absolutely amazed to learn that it is theoretically possible for an adult male worker to work on 359 days a year, but in practice, this does not happen'. If this is correct, then it is only during the past few months that the practice has ceased. Mrs. Judith Hart, replying to a question on June 27th 1967 stated that she was aware that some textile workers are working 359 days each year, or to be more precise, when asked if she was aware of this, she replied that her answer was, with some qualifications, YES. Can it be that we in London are more aware of what is the practice in industry in Hongkong and that you do not? This surely cannot be, and I must therefore assume that this insidious practice has been discontinued recently.
You will, I am sure, appreciate that in the course of my duties, my concern is for the well-being of workers in the textile and clothing industries. Whilst I can accept your statement that hours of werk have been progressively reduced over recent years, this does not alter the fact that there has been no reduction in the hɔurs of work for women and young persons in the garment industry since January 1959. Happily, improvements are now on the way.
You also state that my assertion that the Police Force has been used to break strikes is unwarranted. Perhaps my memory is a little longer than your own, but it is a fact that the police cordoned the East Asia Textiles Ltd. during the second strike to enable blacklegs to enter. If you will again read point 9 of my letter, you will see that I say that this incident has made it appear that the Hongkong Government gives police protection to employers..etc.
You also state that the penalties which are imposed for violations of labour legislation are 'a matter for the judiciary'. This may be so, but it is the Government that fixes the amounts of the penalties that might be imposed, and as I state in my letter, the penalties are so ridiculously low that they do not act as a deterrent. I will even go further, the present low penalties are actually an inducement to employers to break the law.
The most amazing statement you make however, is in the final paragraph when you assert that 'the recent disorders have shown that the vast majority of the people of Hongkong support the Government and the way of life they lead here'.