61
is clear enough from the Parliamentary Answer.
If the percentage increase of wage rates since
before the war is compared with the rise in
comparatively speating the cost of living index (which is a reliable
4
the
one you will see that in general wages
have gone up by more than the cost of living
since pre-war and that as a result real wages
have increased.
As to your question (d), we can
certainly say that wages generally in Hong Kong
(and as pointed out above the rubber footwear
industry does not differ very considerably
from the general standard) are high by Far
East standards; in fact they are probably the
highest anywhere in the Far East.
I trust that the above information
will be sufficient for your purposes.
Yours sincerely,