OCCUPATIONS, WAGES AND LABOUR ORGANIZATION
sites, were accepted by Government. The administra- tion of the Workmen's Compensation Ordinance which was enacted at the end of 1953 added considerably to the work both of Labour Officers and of the Labour Inspectorate, particularly during the early months before employers had become familiar with the routine procedure involved. In the field of industrial health a medical officer was temporarily posted to the Depart- ment for preliminary survey work. The movement of labour overseas continued and at the beginning of the year a Labour Officer visited British North Borneo, Brunei and Sarawak to observe and discuss conditions of service for Chinese workmen.
Advice on trade union management, internal or- ganization and accounting procedure continued to be given by a Labour Officer who also organized classes on the basic principles of trade unionism. The formal side of trade union work relating to the registration of unions and the enforcement of the Trade Unions and Trade Disputes Ordinance had for some time been separated within the Department from the advisory side but in December this division was emphasized by the establishment of an independent Registry of Trade Unions Department under a Registrar, a function hitherto exercised by the Commissioner of Labour.
Industrial Relations
Labour Organization
For the first time since the enactment of the Trade Unions and Trade Disputes Ordinance the number of registered trade unions showed a decrease. The total number of registered unions at the end of the year
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