From The Minister of State
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The Rt Hon The Lord Goronwy-Roberts
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
HKK 212/5
RECEIVED IN REGISTRY MO. 51
· 4 AUG 1978
DESK OFFICER
Aiar Beb,
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London SW1A 2AH
3 August 1978
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PT. carry out copy418
~ Thompson
please ensue that thisis copied to S. D. Robe, 5 and N Parady. Done Q
824/8
I have had drawn to my attention the reference to Hong Kong which you made towards the end of the debate on the cutlery industry on 24 July, when you said that workers in Hong Kong are grossly exploited.
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While I understand the concern that British cutlery manufacturers feel at what they see as unfair competition from imports from countries with low labour costs, I do not believe that it is true to say, in Hong Kong's case, that those low costs are the result of gross exploitation of workers. Indeed, since Hong Kong is a British Dependent Territory for which Ministers here are answerable, if I did believe there was exploitation of workers in Hong Kong I would take steps to ensure that something was done about it.
It is, of course, true that Hong Kong workers work longer hours for lower wages than their counterparts in this country: the average Hong Kong worker receives about £4 for an eight hour working day, and works six full days a week. But this needs to be seen in an Asian context not a European one. Workers in Hong Kong already receive higher wages than anywhere else in the region except Japan; and their wages are increasingly steadily in real terms. Their general conditions of service - in respect of such things as paid holidays, severance pay, fringe benefits etc are at least equal to those in any of the other developing countries in the area. There are strict laws governing the employment of women and young people, and, contrary to what some people appear to believe, the employment of children in industrial undertakings is illegal. Hong Kong's record in the application of ILO Conventions also compares creditably with other countries
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I made clear in my reply to Lord Oram's question on this subject in the House of Lords on 5 July.
A further factor which is often overlooked is that Hong Kong is well ahead of her neighbours in the effectiveness with which labour legislation is enforced.
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