Working Hours. ·
The usual hours in Chinese-owned factories are from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. (with an hour off at mid-day) but extra work from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at ordinary rates is not uncommon. In the latter case a further rest period between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. is usual. In many other occupations, such as catering, transport and stevedoring, the working day may be 9 hours or longer, with a 7-day week. The tempo of the work in these occupations is however, proportionate, and there are many short rest periods. In European concerns the 48-hour week is now standard, except in the Naval Dockyard where a 44-hour week is worked. The usual rest-day is Sunday, though other days are allotted where work must necessarily be continuous.
Labour Organisation.
In its organisation of labour, Hong Kong, in common with the majority of Far Eastern countries since the war, has been increasingly affected by the quickening tempo of world events. The ancient guild is progressively yielding place to the modern union. There is a re-direction of emphasis and aim. The guild sought to establish a closed monopoly within each craft; to protect trade secrets; to provide for its members a medium for mutual intercourse and instruction; and to furnish benefits for the less fortunate of its members or fellow countrymen. Wages and conditions of work, where not protected by the custom of the craft or fixed by mutual arrangement between members (who might be masters or men) were deemed to be matters for individual bargaining between employer and employed. Pro- gressive industrialisation, by bringing together ever larger aggregations of workers, has inevitably led to greater concentra- tion on comparative living conditions, and to the organisation of Industrial Unions as distinct from craft organisations. The guilds retaining most of the old features are confined, in the main, to the small, independent, family type of organisation, restricted to one particular trade.
The Trade Union and Trade Disputes Bill has not yet become law, but its passage through the legislature should not now be long delayed. At the moment therefore there is no marked difference between trade unions and other forms of association. Most societies, including trade unions, voluntarily notify the Secretary for Chinese Affairs and furnish particulars of their formation. Since the re-occupation of the Colony and up to December, 1947, 147 guilds classified as workers' unions, 106 guilds of employers, 65 craft guilds of workers and employers have given such notification, together with numerous recrea- tional and education clubs and associations. One weakness of the present system is the difficulty of determining the precise status of these associations and their position as representative bodies in labour relations. Furthermore, as is shown by the figures quoted above, there is considerable duplication in many trades. This inevitably militates against the successful conduct of such a trade union function as collective bargaining. Each
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