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Wednesday, February 7, 1973
"But," Mr. Tsui continued, "Where a breach of a provision
of the Employment Ordinance is discovered by an officer of the Service
concerning payment of wages and other sums due under a contract of
employment, he warns the offending party and seeks an early remedy in
the interests of the aggrieved party.
"At the same time, the officer advises the aggrieved party on
what legal steps it may take in default of a settlement."
During the year, an employer in the woollen knitting industry
was prosecuted by the Labour Department under the Employment Ordinance for
continuing the contracts of employment of his workers without believing on
reasonable grounds that he would be able to pay all wages earned by the
workers.
Prosecuted
The directors of limited liability restaurant in liquidation werc
prosecuted under the same ordinance for failure to pay wages due to employees
within the statutory limit of seven days.
In both cases a further ground for prosecution was that the
employer had contravened the provisions of the ordinance wilfully and
without reasonable excuse.
Mr. Taul advised employers that in the interests of harmonious
labour relations, they should familiarise themselves with the Employment
Ordinance. In particular, they should familiarise themselves with those
provisions concerning payment of wages because under present living conditions
workers cannot afford to have payment of wages delayed.
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