Weaving (Piece rates fixed by joint negotiation.)
(a) Power-driven Machinery
(i) Bobbin-winding
(ii) Warping & Weaving Sections
(b) Hand-operated Machinery
(i) Bobbin-winding
(ii) Warping and weaving Sections
$2.00-$3.00
$4.00-$6.00
$1.00-$2.00
$3.00-$4.00
These earnings are averaged on the basis of a 9-hour day. There has been little change in these rates during the course of this year.
Working Hours
In the
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. 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, but the tempo of work in these occupations is proportionately slow and there are many short rest periods. European concerns the 48-hour week is now standard. In the Naval Dockyard a 44-hour week is worked. The usual rest- day is Sunday, though other days are allotted where work must necessarily be continuous.
Factories and Workshops.
In
During the year 1,610 factories and workshops applied for registration. Of the 225 factories or workshops which are known to have closed down during the year, 12 were small rubber factories which sprang to life in tenement buildings immediately after the war and before the large factories, now in operation, were rehabilitated. The remainder were also small concerns which were unable to stand up to competition. There were at the end of the year 1,160 registered factories and work- shops. Most of the machinery and equipment in use is old and tired and until some improvement is made in the realms of production, Hong Kong industrial production must lag.
The field of inspection has expanded as there are now 121 different types of industry operating in the
the Colony. Nearly 10,000 visits of inspection to factories and workshops were made during the year, including night inspections in connection with the employment of women and young persons in prohibited hours, visits in connection with industrial accidents, compensa- tion payment of wages during incapacitation and medical fees, and visits made to markets and retail establishments to check prices for the preparation of the monthly "food and fuel figures.'
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