25.
reasons
It is also good to remind ourselves that one of the
the flexibility and
for our thriving economy is
of
Our
work
force;
in
adaptability
particular,
their
willingness to accept cuts in take-home pay when times are This enables us to recover from recession much faster
Our present situation of full
bad.
than some of our competitors.
employment and hence, labour shortage, has made wages rise
and
SO
enabled
workers Our
to
in share
our
general
prosperity.
76.
this is no comfort
to
া
3.4.
5.c
However, I appreciate that employers, desperate for workers, and that
some would like to
see us take radical measures, such as the import of labour.
The Government's views have been fully explained in this
Council, most recently by the acting Secretary for Trade and
Industry on 14 October 1987, in reply to a question from Mr
I do not
for me Sohmen.
think it is necessary for to repeat
what Mr. Yeung said it. Mr, Sohmen himself, though critical of the Government's view, gave a very fair summary of it in his own speech.
that occasion or on
even
to
summar
iže
As
he said, we believe that the best solution is for employers
to attract
more people into
work by
S
by improving pay
and
working conditions and to economize on labour by investing
in labour saving equipment and improving productivity.