3. Hours of employment. In concerns managed by Europeans the
Rea
48 hour weeks is standard. Most textile factories are however
Chinese owned and hours are normally longer. Ten to twelve
by men
hours a day are commonly worked 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 ar
to have a chat. Most of the workers are on piece rates and
may come and go during working hours and also take casual
leave with comparative freedom,
So far as women and children are concerned, the hours
of employment are in the main governed by legislation based
on international labour conventions. This legislation prohibits
the employment of children under 14 and the employment of
women or young persons at night or for more than a certain
number of hours per day (8 for all women workers and 9 for
young persons, i.e.under 18 years of age). The Hong Kong
Labour Department carry out many inspections of premises to
see that these provisions are not contravened. In the nine
months ended 30th June 1949, 7,751 inspections were carried
out, 338 of these being at night. There were 45 proseations
for illegal employment of women and four in respect of young
persons. Convictions were recorded in all cases. A recent
report stated however that the application of the law is made
difficult by the fact that the Chinese generally see no reason
why women should not work at night as they do in China and also
secondły by the fact that so much of the Colony's industry is
carried on in small establishments using purely manual labour.
Women workers generally have no objection to working at night,
particularly if they are offered extra wages and the result is
that most infringements of the law are acquiesed in by the
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workers/