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Thursday, March 28, 1974
EMPLOYMENT BILL EFFECTIVE FROM MONDAY
The Employment (Amendment) Ordinance 1974, which provides
non-manual employees the same statutory protection currently enjoyed
by all manual workers, will come into force on Monday (April 1).
It increases by a third the wage ceiling on non-manual workers,
from $1,500 to $2,000, covered by Hong Kong major labour legislation.
The new legislation provides, among other things, maternity
protection, paid statutory holidays and sickness allowance. It governs
the payment of wages and restricts deduction of wages.
Also passed in the Legislative Council yesterday was the Workmen's
Compensation (Amendment) Bill 1974, which also boosts workmen's compensation
payment scales by a third, from $1,500 to $2,000.
Under the new legislation, which will become effective on July 1,
dependants of a worker killed in the course of his employment will receive
not less than $9,600 or more than $60,000 -
compared with a minimum
of $7,200 and a maximum of $45,000 under the existing ordinance.
The compensation payment to worker who suffers permanent incapacity
will be increased from not less than $9,600 or more than $60,000 to a
minimum of $12,800 and a maximum of $80,000.
The additional compensation payment for a worker who requires
constant attention as a result of his injuries will be a maximum of
$32,000 instead of $24,000 under the new legislation.
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