2600027
CIS. 20A
SAVING DESPATCH
SAVINGRAM
18
4th March, 1970.
CR 169/65 V
'm the Governor, Hong Kong Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs the Secretary of State for the Colonies
cuted to:-
Repeated to:-
Date.....
My Reference......
No.
275
RY No. 51
No.
1970
No.
ник 5/3 Your Reference..
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Your saving despatch number 13 of 9th January, 1970 -
Employment of women at night in industrial establishments
A bill amending the Employment Ordinance to grant a statutory entitlement to four rest days a month to all employees covered by the principal ordinance was introduced in to the Legislative Council at the end of January. Apart from women and young persons in industrial employment already granted a compulsory weekly rest day under the Factories and Industrial Undertakings Regulations, the amending bill affects all manual workers, including domestic servants, and all other employees earning not more than
It became evident $1,500 a month in wages, both male and female. that it would pass through all its stages without substantial change.
The In fact, it did so on 25th February with two minor amendments. provisions will become effective on 1st April, 1970.
2.
At the same time, considerable progress has been made in a series of amending bills dealing with six separate aspects of the problem of protecting wages. Two bills increasing the amount of wages to be given a greater degree of priority under the Bankruptcy Ordinance and Companies Ordinance are now ready for presentation to the Executive Council and another bill dealing with absconding employers and employers employing workers without adequate resources to pay wages should be ready for presentation in March.
3.
In the light of this progress in legislation and particularly the legislation in respect of four rest days, the Commissioner of Labour was authorized to inform organizations and firms which had previously written to him on the subject that he would be prepared to consider applications from managements of selected industrial undertakings to employ women at night for a trial period starting not earlier than 1st March, 1970 and ending not later than 30th June, 1971. He indicated that the scheme would be reviewed in about twelve months' time to determine whether or not to extend it beyond June 1971 so that adequate warning could be given if it was decided to terminate the experiment.
4.
Managements would be required to observe certain general conditions applicable to all industrial undertakings and any special
The following conditions required in respect of individual factories. safeguards were prescribed and satisfy all the considerations set out General conditions in paragraph 3 of your savingram under reference. laid down were as follows :-
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