37 i
2. Wages.
(c) tu conform to factory and labour legislation,
(a) to allow inspection by the Committee at any
stage of manufacture,
(a) to pay cluse attention to customs requirements.
connected with Imperial preference,
(f) support their own industrial association.
Local merchants would then only buy from factories appearing on the accredited list.
It is difficult to make general comparison between wages in Hong Kong and wages in the textile industry in this country. Differences of cost of living and in the general way of life are very great and the question is complicated by the custom in Hong Kong of providing free quarters and food and because in many cases the concerns are family enterprises. Generally speaking however, workers in the Hong Kong textile industry with a few exceptions are not badly off by comparison with other workers in the Colony where the general standard of wages is higher than anywhere in the Far East. Wages have increased since the war proportionately more than the cost of living and the standard of living (except in respect of housing) is higher. It is however recognised in Hong Kong that the wages position in the textile industry is not altogether satisfactory. As a result of Japanese competition, some manufacturers have been endeavouring to reduce wages from the peak reached in the immediate post-war boom period and these efforts have met with sharp resistance from the workers. A wage agreement entered into shortly after the war was in force generally for about a year but has now lapsed, and efforts to pursuade manufacturers to enter into a new agreement have so far proved unavailing. If this situation continues it may be necessary to take action under the Trade Boards Ordinance, 1940. Under this Ordinance the Governor may fix minimum rates of wages for any trade in which he is satisfied that the minimum rates are unreasonably low. He may if he deems it advisable establish a Trade Board consisting of employers' and workers' representatives, together with an independent element, to conduct an enquiry into the industry. There is little doubt however that one of the principal difficulties in the way of statutory minimum wage fixing in Hong Kong is the problem of inspection and the large number of cases where wages are paid partly in kind, i.e.free lodgings and food.
3.
Hours of employment. In concerns managed by Europeans the 48 hour week is more or less standard. Most textile facturies are however Chinese owned and hours are normally longer. Ten to twelve hours a day are commonly worked by men in all sections of the industry. These hours may seem long but except in the spinning section, where the workers are compensated by better wages and better conditions of employment generally, the output of Chinese workers is considerably less than that of English workers of similar skill, and tempo and discipline are comparatively easy. Tea is usually on tap and workers break off to have a drink or to have a chat.
/ Most of