OCCUPATION, WAGES AND LABOUR ORGANIZATION
It must, however, be appreciated that particularly among the smaller Chinese firms most workers are engaged on a day to day basis and employment fluc- tuates considerably. There is a wider range of wages in these firms, varying from $2-$14 a day.
Working Hours
In most European concerns and Chinese companies. of a Western character the 48-hour week is standard. The rest day is usually Sunday, although in under- takings such as electric-generating stations and public transport, other days in rotation are given instead. More spinning factories are adopting a system of three 8-hour shifts in order to reduce overheads.
Non-European types of Chinese concerns still favour a 7-day week together with a 9-hour day. It is more than doubtful whether these long hours produce any appreciable increase in output per man-week because the tempo of the work is considerably slower and there are numerous breaks for tea and conversation during the day. It is, however, very difficult to obtain any support for shorter hours even from the workers, and overtime is often worked and may become regular during periods of good business.
Factories and Workshops
At the beginning of the year there were 402 outstanding applications for registration under the Factories & Workshops Ordinance and during the year 284 further applications for registration were received.
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