OCCUPATIONS, WAGES AND LABOUR ORGANIZATION
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by a two-year contract until such time as they are allowed to settle permanently or required to return to Hong Kong.
WAGES AND CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT
Wages. Wages are generally calculated on a monthly, daily, or hourly basis or on piece rates, but it is customary to pay many daily and piece-rated workers at weekly or fortnightly intervals. Most unskilled workers, employed as general labour, are on daily rates of pay as are a considerable number of skilled and semi- skilled operatives in industry. The majority of industrial produc- tion process workers are paid on piece rates. Both men and women receive the same piece rates but, in general, men receive slightly higher monthly or daily rates than women engaged on the same work. Pay for learners in trades where a period of training in the factory is necessary is frequently below the unskilled rates, but includes in most cases food and sometimes accommodation; and wages rise with increases in skill.
The demand for suitable labour in the textile industry in particular affected wage levels in other industries and there were definite indications in the latter half of the year of an upward trend in wages in many sectors. At the end of the year, the wage range for daily-rated workers was estimated as:
Skilled workmen
Semi-skilled workmen
Unskilled workmen
$7 to $18 a day
$4 to $8 a day $2.50 to $6 a day
A bonus of one month's wages is paid at Chinese New Year in many concerns.
Higher rates of pay for all grades of Government employees were recommended in the report of the Salaries Commission appointed by Government in January. The recommendations of the Commission were generally accepted by Government and the arrangements to implement them were nearing completion at the end of the year.
Some firms provide free food and accommodation for regular employees. Others provide canteens, from which food and other necessities are supplied at subsidized rates. Most European con- cerns and some Chinese concerns run on Western lines pay a basic wage, together with a variable cost of living allowance to