*
>
7
and
already introduced new elements into the Legislative Council; further progress would be made as soon as it was possible to identify leaders representing the lower income groups. The latter depended upon the satisfactory growth of the system of Mutual Aid Committees and Area Committees which he had introduced. The system had its roots in Chinese society and was thus not a novel concept either to the Chinese population of Hong Kong or to the mainland.
It was, nonetheless, a novel development in the history of the Colony about which he personally was very enthusiastic. He was hopeful that changes in the social composition of the Legislative Council would not be long delayed: it was a developing process and the first steps would be followed by others in due course.
3. The Governor went on to say that the Hong Kong Government took its ILO responsibilities seriously and there had been steady progress in this regard. In 1975, for instance, Hong Kong had applied the Convention on the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining without modifications and had applied another on the Protection of Wages with modifications. A third concerning Weekly
He hoped
Rest Days was shortly to be applied with modifications. that there would be further progress in 1976. Already Hong Kong's performance compared well with that of her Asian neighbours, includ- ing Singapore. It had, however, to be recognised that social and economic conditions in Hong Kong were very different from those in
the industrialised democracies.
4.
Mr Hurst said that, as the Committee were aware, the multiplicity of small firms and the differing political allegiances of the trade unions acted as restraints on the growth of the trade union movement in Hong Kong. It had been agreed to examine the situation afresh and a study was being commissioned of labour relations in the Colony to form the basis of a further consideration of the problem. Mr Hurst added that consideration was also being given to the simplification of trade union legislation in the Colony. Mr Mikardo said that he hoped this could embrace the question of the
/amalgamation