Enc. G.
With regard to those Conventions which have already been declared applied to Hong Kong, there are a number in respect of which the Committee of Experts has intimated that Direct Requests are to be addressed to the Government of Hong Kong in the current reporting period. The texts of those relating to Conventions Nos.8, 26 and 50 have already been received and copies are attached in case it is wished to discuss the points arising during Mr Foggon's visit. There is also an acknowledgment in the attached Direct Requests of an amendment to the Emergency (Principal) Regulations, Section 126 of Cap 241, which was previously seen as being in breach of Convention No.87, but the Committee of Experts has indicated that a Direct Request is to be addressed to the government concerning this Convention, and this probably concerns another aspect of the law as the report on which the Direct Request will be based was that in which the amendment to the Trade Union Registration Ordinance was first reported and the provisions of the Trade Unions Ordinance of 1972 were described.
It will be noted that the Direct Request concerning Convention No.8 refers to the UK Merchant Shipping (International Labour Conventions) Act of 1925. As this Direct Request concerns not only a number of non-metropolitan territories but the UK also, clarification of the position as a result of the coming into force of the UK Merchant Shipping Act of 1970 and the consequent repeal of the 1925 Act and a considerable part of the UK Merchant Shipping Act of 1894 is being sought in consultation with Legal Advisers and the Department of Employment. It is hoped to advise non-metropolitan governments of the position when the reports for the period 1972/74 are called for later this year.
Other matters which it would be helpful if the Overseas Labour Adviser could raise while he is in Hong Kong concern:-
(i) Convention No.5: Minimum Age (Industry) 1919. There is a long-standing Direct.Request which reads as follows:-
..
"The Committee has been pointing out in direct requests since 1963 that the provisions of section 2, subsection 2(a), of the Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance, No.34 of 1955, which excludes from its scope 'undertakings. not carried on by way of trade or for purposes of gain', are not in conformity with the Convention. It has also noted
that on several occasions the Government has stated its intention of amending these provisions so that only the technical schools are excluded from the scope of the Ordinance.
/The Committee