4
"Although two industrial safety committees have been active for some time it may be necessary eventually to enforce codes of safe practice by legislation," said Mr. Hetherington.
Four items were under consideration involving a measure to require employers to supply statistics on employment and related subjects, registration of under- ground workers to comply with Convention No.123 of the International Labour Organisation, centralised control of fireworks, and the rovision of storage fees for explosives.
Mr. Hetherington said that an adviser on labour legislation, Mr. D.I. Goodwin, who arrived in Hong Kong recently, would be engaged in reviewing the whole range of labour legislation and advising on it.
The Commissioner of Labour said he was not able to forecast with any degree of certainty the speed with which individual items already in the programme would go before the Logislative Council. It was inevitable, he said, that major items, because of their complexity, would make slower progress than minor ones.
Mr. Hetherington gave an assurance that the programme would be regularly reviewed, and there was no possibility that delays on any particular items could be overlooked.
END