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HXL 7/393/5
HONG KONG
Sir Murray MacLehose, K. C.M.G., M.B.E. Governor
8 October 1974
Sir,
APPLICATION OF INT ERNATIONAL LABOUR CONVENTION CONCERNING WEEKLY REST (INDUSTRY), NO. 14 (1921)
I have the honour to inform you that the position has been further examined, in consultation with my Labour Advisers, on the basis of the trial report enclosed with a letter dated 25 March 1974 (SS 14/3/5683/58) from the Social Services Branch of the Colonial Secretariat to the Hong Kong and Indian Ocean Department of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
2. Before a declaration of application can be made it is necesse (even allowing for the modification, which appears to be agreed by all concerned is necessary in respect of Article 2) to ensure thi all employees are entitled to a statutory or compulsory weekly real day. In this connection the following points arise:
(1) Article 3 (Page 6 of the trial report).
Admittedly the Convention allows exceptions end "diminutions" and Article 3 permits the exclusion of "persons employed in industrial undertakings in which only the members of one ringi. family are employed". It is not clear, however, whether Section 3(2)(b) of the Employment Ordinance (Cap 57) is wholly relevant to this Article. The Committee of Experts could show interest in this point (c.f. the views expressed in paragraphe 68 to 71 of the General Conclusions relating to Convention No in their Report to the 49th Session of the International 1 Conference in 1964 (Report III (Part IV)), a cory of which y sent to you under cover of Circuler Savingram No 323/4 of 7 August 1964 from the then Secretary of State for the Ce If it could be acknowledged in any report sent to the ILO 5 Article 3 is probably not so much relevant to indiviu! as to the small cottage industry (or in Hong Kong term, "tenement factory") where only members of one family are employed, this would be more satisfactory. It would seem th Article 3 cannot be relied on at the present time for the pu of making exceptions when an outsider is employed.
(2) Article 4 (Page 6 of trial report.)
(a) The statement in the first paragraph does not
to represent the position correctly. Section (1)
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