(118281) Dd. 391599 1,500M 2/69 Hw.
NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN IN THIS MARGIN
Registry No. HKK 5/3
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION
Top Secret. Secret.
Confidential.
Restricted. Unclassified.
PRIVACY MARKING
In Confidence
DRAFT Saving Despatch 278
To:-
The Governor,
HONG KONG,
Type 1 +
From
Telephone No. & Ext.
Department
The Table on pages 44-45 gives a breakdown) special exemption anders. On 31 March 1969 the column relating to
night shifts should read: 3,486; 68;581; 1,040, 172; 14;305; 175; 56; NJ; 2,115; 14; 210; 2,764; Ts 11,000.
Your Saving Despatch No. 241 of 5 March.
The Employment of Women at Night in Industrial Establishments
The Department of Employment and Productivity
have advised us that the figures quoted in the
Economist's article of 15 February, 1969 were correct,
as of 31 December, 1967. The corresponding figures
for 31 March, 1969 were 119,386, out of a total of
2,721,000 employed in manufacturing industries in
February 1969.
The Economist's article also referred to a
forthcoming report by a sub-committee of the National
Joint Advisory Council, investigating the restrictive
regulations of the Factories Act 1961, and possible
changes thereto.
coptesenclosed)
This report has now been published
Pages 36-42 of the report detail
existing restrictions and conditions of exemption,
but Section II of the report records disagreement as
to whether restrictions on women's hours are still
needed under present conditions in the UK. The
employers (CBI) and DEP officials take the view that
they are not, and the latter have recently prepared
and circulated a paper (also enclosed) to the CBI,
TUC, etc on an "in confidence not for publication"
basis which suggests inter alia that the restrictions
against women should be abolished. It is only infre-
for
quently that an application an exemption order is