Most, if not all, of the points raised in the Granada programme
were anticipated in 14 Parliamentary Questions that Bob Parry
tabled last December. I enclose copies of extracts from Hansard
containing Evan Luard's replies, which you may wish to pass on to
your constituency branch. In particular, 71 labour inspectors
were engaged in 1975/6 in making regular visits to factories to
ensure that the law forbidding the employment of children below the
age of 14 is enforced (though I agree that the penalties imposed
on some offenders might be thought insufficiently tough).
There
There is another side to the Hong Kong labour picture.
has been steady progress in recent years in Hong Kong in improving
the terms and conditions of employment, particularly of young
persons. To give a few examples: an Apprenticeship Ordinance was
brought into force last year to ensure that apprentices are properly
trained and fairly treated; the number of statutory public holidays
a year has been increased from 6 to 10 from 1 January this year; and
the number of compulsory rest days has been increased from 4 a
month to one a week, again with effect from the beginning of this
year, in order to ensure that every worker has at least one day
off a week. At the same time, further safety regulations have
been introduced with regard to the guarding and operation of
machinery, the operation of goods lifts, the spraying of flammable
liquids and work in compressed air. Moreover, the Governor of
Hong Kong, in his statement at the opening of the current session
of the Legislative Council last October announced further measures
to improve conditions of employment, including the provision of a
week's paid holiday from the beginning of 1978, the abolition of
overtime working for young persons up to the age of 18 by 1980 and