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lessen the reluctance to employ young persons of 14/15 years of age whose hours are now stringently controlled.
36. Much more needs to be known about the participation of young people in commerce, manufacturing industry and the service industries, their motivations, prejudices and preferences. Research currently being carried out by
the University may be of some help in this direction, but the whole problem underlines the importance of the proposed Youth Employment Advisory Service. The story of the development of this project is another example of the slowness of the Secretariat machine on occasion to give decisions. Proposals to establish a Youth Employment Service were put to the Secretariat on 30 June 1966. A year later, approval was given to a modified scheme without a placement service, subject to approval being obtained for additional staff and funds. A request for these submitted on 9 June 1967. was still without a reply in early October (approval has since been given). Almost 18 months to obtain approval for a modest project which had the full support of the Departmental Head and the Labour Advisory Board adds weight to the suggestion made earlier for the establishment of a small ad hoc Labour Policy Committee, which would also take into account the staffing needs of the Department of Labour in relation to its expanding responsibilities.
Dismissed Left-Wing Workers
37. As mentioned earlier, somewhere between 7,500 and 10,000 workers, mainly in the essential services and public utilities, have lost their jobs as a result of a withdrawal of labour induced by the Left-Wing F.T.U. Some anxiety was expressed by a number of leading citizens, notably Sir E. Kadoorie and the Vice-Chancellor of the University, about the social, political and security aspects of this large body of disgruntled men being without employment; special measures on their behalf were suggested. On the other hand, the view was expressed that a high proportion had already taken up other work, and there was little or no problem. Nevertheless, on 1 October a statement issued by the All Trade Workers Anti-persecution Struggle Committee said,
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