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Tuesday, March 7, 1972
The Hon. Sir John Langford-Holt then asked: "Will not my Rt. Hon.
Friend agree that working conditions in Hong Kong have been improving at a
rapid rate over recent years which bears comparison with any other nation in
the world, and that some of the examples would bear comparison with anything
that we have in this country?"
The Foreign Secretary said that that was true. "I was able to tour
some of the more recently built housing estates. The number of people involved
and the standards in which they have been housed represent a most remarkable
achievement of the ingenuity of man.'
The Hon. James Lamond put in another question. He asked: "Does not
the Rt. Hon. Gentleman realise, despite the improvements which have taken
place in the textile industry's wages in Hong Kong, a recent answer given in
this House showed that average wages are still less than eight pounds a week?
While workers in Lancashire have great sympathy for workers in Hong Kong, they
cannot compete against wages of that kind. Will the Rt. Hon. Gentleman please
see that the industrialists with whom he speaks make sure that some of the
benefits are passed to the workers and that there are not more Chinese millionaires
created in Hong Kong?"
Sir Alec replied: "The Hon. Gentleman may be interested to know that
since 1964, the average industrial wage rate has risen by 94 per cent. It is
now the third highest in the Far East, behind only the rates in Japan and Singapore.
There has been a great deal of improvement."
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