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HKK 234/1
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Mr Murray
CONFIDENTIAL
HONG KONG: SOCIAL SECURITY
HKK 234/1
RECEIVEDAN BESISTIFY NO.
Mt 14 DEC 1978
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1. In paragraph 97 of his speech at the opening of the Hong Kong Legislative Council Sir Murray MacLehose reaffirmed his Government's
HKK 013/4 intention to provide coverage against the risks of extended sickness,
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death and retirement, but said that they had not yet decided on the best method of proceeding. In his letter of 1 November the Governor set out the difficulties which are causing the delay. 2. You will recall that, following earlier discussion of this proposal, we had reached agreement in principle with the Governor
scheme that these risks should be covered by an insurance/which would probably be both compulsory and contributory. The Governor now foresees three main problems in the implementation of such a scheme. Firstly, he predicts that the number of workers likely to qualify for the death and extended sickness benefits would probably be insufficient to justify the expense and difficulty involved in establishing the scheme. Secondly, he argues that at least a quarter of those who would be eligible to join the scheme already receive equally good, if not better, benefits from existing occupational schemes; that these people would resent being forced to contribute to a compulsory Government scheme as well; and that the Public Service would be a particular problem in this regard. Thirdly, the Governor fears that the inclusion of a retirement benefit in a compulsory scheme would provoke questions about the future of the territory which would be impossible to answer, and that it could thus prove seriously disruptive.
3. The last of these problems is political and we have hitherto taken the view that the risk is worth taking. The other difficulties are essentially technical and it is difficult for the layman to judge their seriousness. I therefore decided to consult
Mr Strachan Heppell of the Department of Health and Social Services:
as a special consultant to the Hong Kong Government, Mr Heppell was largely responsible for the 1977 Green Paper "Help for those least able to help themselves" in which the idea of a sickness, injury
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CONFIDENTIAL