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in view of the lack of opportunity to rotate with day shift workers these being mostly women, raises the unit cost of production, as the shortage of workers on night shifts often renders
difficult the maintenance of full operation and tends to upset delivery schedules.
As to the effect on the investment climate, the knowledge that Hongkong industry may potentially receive permission to employ women at night, even if such permission may be dependent upon the acceptance by industry of prescribed conditions, would be a strong indecement to potential investors and enterprisers. This would be especially needed to counteract the incentive based on the availability of such permission as is being offered by nearby countries like Singapore and Nationalist China.
It would appear relevant to point out that the principal reason for the erstwhile laudable policy of forbidding the
This employment of women at night is the protection of morals. is reflected in the exception provided in ILO "Convention 89 for women working at night in undertakings where only members of the same family are employed.
But this consideration has lost much of its force in the modern environment. In the case of spinning industry transporta- tion in the form of private buses is available for workers travelling to and from the mills late at night and early in the morning. The operating mill spaces are brightly lighted, with supervisors and overseers in constant attendance.
If
There is another important point to be considered. women are permitted to work on night shifts, it would then be possible to arrange schedules for full rotation of night shift with day shift workers. A women worker under a general rotation system would have to work on night his no more than about 100 days or 14 weeks a year. Incidentally this would compare favourably with night working hours for women of a maximum of 17 weeks a year in Hungary.
For the sake of bolstering the competitive position of Hongkong-made products and further helping the investment climate, it would be highly advisable for government to exercise the discretionary power already conferred by statute of granting exceptions to industries such as the cotton spinning industry on condition that the merits of each case are clear and demonstrable.
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