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(c) for financing by loan, in periods of depression, works likely to stimulate economic recovery.
The Department of Labour has responsibilities for unemployment and the co-ordination of schemes devised by employing departments and others, and the maintenance of these records might well be regarded as one of them.
A plan is recommended which will require all Government Contracting Departments to earmark certain projected developments as "relief works", and when one relief work scheme is carried out in advance of an emergency it should be replaced immediately by a further scheme, providing an equivalent volume of work measured in man hours. Dy such an arrangement, there will always be avail- able a known volume of work.
A list of types of work for this scheme includes roads, bridges, tunnels, land reclamation, forestry, ship-building, etc.
10.
Fair Wages Clauses in Public Contracts.
No action has yet been taken to ensure that the "fair conditions of labour" stipulation in Sect. 1(2)(a) of the C.D. & W. Act 1940 are observed.
There seems to be no reason why the Hong Kong Government should not consider a resolution of the kind passed in the United Kingdom, based on the model rules provided by the Colonial Office, with modifications. Suitable wording for inclusion in the resolution is suggested.
11.
Wage Rates and Cost of Living.
In view of the acute shortage of skilled and physically fit workers after the re-occupation, the Labour Advisory Board recommended scales cover- ing various grades of skilled and unskilled workers. The rates were subject to an additional rehabilia- tion allowance (See Appendix II). Today, however, there are many distinct and separate wage standards. The numerous industries that employ the out-worker system to lower costs, find that effective control is practically impossible.
Remuneration in other establishments
includes food or lodging or both.
Among lower paid workers of small Chinese firms there is little industrial dissatisfaction as without some work they would starve, and if they took strike action, they could easily be replaced. Their return to China is made difficult as they are required to obtain an entry permit from the Communist authorities.
Larger European-owned establishments have
a much clearer wage pattern.
/Government