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Thursday, March 14, 1974
HIGHER COMPENSATION PAYMENTS FOR WORKERS PROPOSED
Two bills aimed at extending statutory protection to a greater number of Hong Kong employees and increasing workers' compensation
payments were introduced in Legislative Council today.
The bills are the Employment (Amendment) Bill 1974 and the
Workmen's Compensation (Amendment) Bill 1974.
They propose to increase from $1,500 to $2,000 the monthly
income limit on non-manual employees covered by the Workmen's Compensation Ordinance and the Employment Ordinance.
In moving the two bills, the Secretary for Social Services,
the Hon. Li Fook-kow said that this one-third increase in the wage ceiling
would mean that a large number of non-manual workers whose wages had
grown past the $1,500-a-month mark set in 1968 would again be brought
under the protection of the two ordinances. (All manual workers are
covered, regardless of income).
"Both wages and the cost of living have increased since 1968,"
said Mr. Li. "The nominal wage index for industrial workers rose by 89 per cent from 134 in September 1968 to 253 in September 1973.
There is no index reflecting wage movements for non-manual workers,
But on the assumption that their wages have been adjusted to reflect
the rise in the cost of living, it would seem reasonable to assume an
increase equivalent to the change in the Consumer Price Index over the
same period.
/"Taking the