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16.
A
21
HKD.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
London SW1A 2AH
SWIA
2 1 MAR 1077
16
A
Edmund Dell has passed to me the letter that your
Secretary wrote to his office on 1 March about the resolution
adopted by your constituency Labour Party asking that the
import of toys produced by child labour in Hong Kong should be
banned. You may be interested to know that the Stockton and
Thornaby Trades Council sent the Prime Minister and Tony
Crosland copies of a similar resolution last month.
As you indicate, the resolution of the constituency Labour
Party like that of the Stockton and Thornaby Trades Council
was probably prompted by the Granada TV "World in Action"
programme on child labour in Hong Kong which was televised on
13 December. I am advised by those who saw the programme that
it produced only limited evidence of child labour in industrial
establishments in Hong Kong, although there were a number of
scenes of young children employed in non-industrial establishments,
eg restaurants, and even more of children doing "out-work" in
their homes. At present there is no limit on the age of
children who may be employed in non-industrial establishments
but no child under the age of 14 may be employed in an industrial
establishment.
The Rt. Hon. William Rodgers MP.
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