HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT, 1954
paid staff would in future be based on movements in the Retail Price Index and that the use of the Food and Fuel Index would be discontinued except in connexion with the allowances of daily rated staff.
Where no cost of living allowances are paid, "take home" pay, if not based on piece rates, generally tends to follow fluctuations in the cost of living, although a number of Chinese firms, particularly in the cotton spinning industry, provide free dormitory accommoda- tion and food either free or at subsidized rates, thus protecting their workers against price variations in what is the most important item of their budget.
Labour Department
The main functions of the Labour Department consist of conciliation and mediation in industrial disputes, the inspection and registration of industrial establishments, the enforcement of health and safety precautions in such establishments and the investiga- tion of accident reports, the protection of women and young persons employed in industry, the administra- tion of the legislation for workmen's compensation, the protection of emigrant workers, the registration of trade unions and the administration of the Trade Unions and Trade Disputes Ordinance. The Department also ensures, in so far as is possible, the observance of International Labour Organization Conventions.
The Department was represented on an interde- partmental committee on industrial development whose recommendations for a large scale reclamation scheme to the east of Kowloon Bay to provide additional factory
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