salaried groups, that increased opportunities are given for the advancement of local officers and that the general salary structure has been greatly simplified. The approved alterations in basic pay and allowances have been made retrospective to 1st January, 1947.
Labour in 1947.
The year 1947 was by no means so free of labour troubles as its predecessor, but on the whole Hong Kong came fairly well out of it by comparison with other Far Eastern Territories. During 1946 most of the major employers of labour had made fresh agreements with their employees, and for a time the position was fairly satisfactory; but further adjustments in the wage-rates of various grades of skilled workers later became necessary.
Three strikes occurred in the first quarter of the year: in each case little was achieved. The three firms concerned were the Peak Tramway Company, the Hong Kong Rope Works and the British Cigarette Company.
A more general agitation for increased wages began in the second quarter. In this the skilled mechanics were to the fore. Here the negotiations were long drawn out. The original demand for 150% increase in basic wages which was advanced by the Chinese Engineers' Institute was somewhat unrealistic and was in due course rejected by the employers. For two months the issue hung fire and then the demand, materially unchanged, was advanced again. The issue was clouded by considerable inter- union rivalry and by doubts whether the C.E.I. was truly representative of the workers. These doubts were removed by a strike called by the Institute in August, in which 11,000 skilled men, mainly in the Dockyards, Government Services, Cement works and Wharf Companies came out. The strike lasted for 27 days causing the loss of 236,440 man-days before agreement was reached. In October similar agreements were made by several utility companies which had steered clear of the previous strike.
Several other disputes occurred involving such varied classes of workers as taxi drivers, fish market employees and employees of the China Motor Bus Company. Only the last named remained unsettled at the end of the year; this was a source of great inconvenience to dwellers on the Island.
Air Developments.
During 1947 the air traffic passing through Hong Kong increased by leaps and bounds. Despite the topographical and climatic limitations of the aerodrome and the rather cramped facilities available, a very heavy volume of traffic was dealt with throughout the year. The actual figures show that traffic had increased elevenfold over 1940 figures and it is worthy of note that the number of passengers passing through the airport monthly was half as great as those using Heathrow Airport near London. This was indicative of the popularity of Hong Kong
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