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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
They warned that licensing will force canteens to close and send workers into the streets to buy food in less hygienic conditions;
They protested that it is illogical to force canteens to be licensed and follow regulations while cooked food stalls are uncontrolled.
To all these reasonable arguments, the Council has turned a deaf ear. It has ruthlessly ploughed its way through all reason and logic towards a decision that will create hardship and frustration for factory canteen operators, but produce extra revenue for the Council.
The Chairman of the Food Hygiene Select Committee defended this policy of the Council recently by making two remarks from which I, as a Council member, wish to dissociate myself:
1.
2.
The Chairman said that cooked food stalls come under the Street Traders Select Committee, by which remark he infers that he is not responsible if cooked food stalls are unhygienic, because he is not chairman of that committee. This is a fallacy and an abdication of responsibility. As members of this Council, we are responsible for all Council policies, and we should either accept or oppose them according to our own consciences.
The Chairman is also reported in the press to have said that if we rely on persuasion and educational techniques only, we shall be like tigers without teeth. I thought we were elected to represent the people and seek policies for the public good. I was not aware that we are supposed to behave like tigers. However, I must admit that some recent motions might suggest that, like parking meters, we too have become hungry tigers.
I shall therefore vote against the motion, but would propose an amendment, that the Motion be referred back to the Select Committee for discussion with the factory associations, until a consensus is reached. We must count the cost of what we are doing; we must foresee the results of our policies. If we fail to do so, we are still responsible for whatever results from blind acceptance of policy.
CHAIRMAN (in English):—An amendment has been proposed. Does it find a seconder?
DR. HUANG (in English):—Mr. Chairman, I second that motion.
CHAIRMAN (in English):—Debate on the amendment please.
MR. STEPHEN M. L. LAU (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, on the question of canteens in factories, I am very concerned about this also. Workers in employment in the manufacturing industry in Hong Kong number over 900,000 and factories only provide meals for 30,000 odd workers. Therefore, the problem is very serious. When I first joined the Urban Council, I also thought that I should work in this direction so that more workers would be able to enjoy the benefits from the Urban Council. As to the licensing of canteens in factories, this is a concern of a lot of industrial bodies. It is because when a final decision is not reached, we cannot disclose it to the public. Therefore, many details are not known to the industrial bodies. I am a Permanent Member of the Chinese Manufacturers Association and I have frequent contacts with industrialists. Therefore, I understand that there are problems. The main point is in the process of the licensing of canteens, will we not hinder the operation of canteens so that they have to close? I believe the problem is not very serious because only 30,000 workers are provided with canteens and there are 800,000 odd workers not provided with canteens. A lot of factories are in industrial buildings. These are mainly small or medium size factories and they are unable to have their own canteens because if they are to have their own canteens the food served will be very monopolized and would not be acceptable to workers. The associations agreed to the use of factory premises as canteens. They agreed to this because if there was no licensing procedure, they would not be able to use the factory premises as canteens, unless there is a licensing procedure. It would mean that they are able to convert factory premises into canteens. The second point of the C.M.A. is that ground floor space would not be used as factory canteens because it is very expensive. They further hope that the private kitchens can be increased from 6 sq. m. to 10 sq. m. I have also looked into the minutes of the Select Committee and I hope that the Select Committee will hold periodic meetings with the associations so that if there are difficulties experienced on both sides, they can discuss their problems and come to a solution. So if we let the relevant bodies know the details they would not worry unduly. The law as amended can be carried out. I support the motion.
Miss CECILIA L. Y. YEUNG (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, on the question of licensing of factory canteens I took part in the select committee discussion. My opinion then was that for the new factories they could make allowance for the provision of canteens, but for the existing factories they had allocated their units and premises for specific use. If we are to add a canteen on to the present factory premises the condition would be, as Mr. LAU suggested, reducing the usable factory space, especially in the case of small scale factories, when meals are served to not a large number of workers. If we are to safeguard public hygiene and thus have the legislation we must look at it from the pragmatic point of view and see whether this could be carried out in the existing factories. Maybe, there should be a canteen in one factory block, so can we not amend the suggestion somehow and use the same condition as we impose on cooked food stalls so that they can operate a canteen on the rooftop. We would thus invent a new style of factory canteens so that factories can have their food up on the rooftop. Maybe, we can look further into this suggestion and operate from the provisions from the cooked food stalls. I support the licensing of factory canteens, but I hope
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