WEDNESDAY, APRIL 14, 1976
LABOUR CHIEF IMPRESSED BY HAECO'S TRAINING SCHEME ******
THE COMMISSIONER FOR LABOUR, MR. IAN PRICE, TODAY (WEDNESDAY) VISITED THE HONG KONG AIRCRAFT ENGINEERING COMPANY, LTD. AT KAI TAK, AS PART OF HIS PROGRAMME OF KEEPING UP-TO-DATE WITH INDUSTRIAL CONDITIONS IN HONG KONG.
THE COMPANY, WHICH HAS A WORKFORCE OF 2,200 EXCLUDING OFFICE STAFF, PROVIDES SERVICING AND OVERHAULING FOR A WIDE RANGE OF AIRCRAFT, AND IS THE ENGINEERING BASE FOR CATHAY PACIFIC AIRWAYS.
MR. PRICE SAID HE WAS IMPRESSED BY THE COMPANY'S WORK IN APPRENTICE TRAINING, ITS REGARD FOR WORK SAFETY AND ITS EFFORT TO PROMOTE GOOD LABOUR RELATIONS.
THE COMPANY RUNS A THREE-YEAR TECHNICIAN APPRENTICESHIP SCHEME AND OPERATES ITS OWN TRAINING SCHOOL WHERE APPRENTICES ATTEND CLASSES, IN ADDITION TO THE RELATED PART-TIME DAY- RELEASE COURSES AT THE POLYTECHNIC.
AS A RESULT OF DISCUSSIONS WITH THE LABOUR DEPARTMENT'S INDUSTRIAL TRAINING DIVISION, IT WILL SOON START CRAFT APPRENTICE TRAINING IN MECHANICAL, ELECTRONIC AND VEHICLE REPAIR TRADES.
MR. PRICE SAID HE WAS IMPRESSED BY THE FACT THAT MANY HAECO APPRENTICES HAD BECOME FULLY LICENSED MAINTENANCE AIRCRAFT ENGINEERS AND THAT A HIGH PASS RATE IN OVERSEAS EXAMINATIONS HAD BEEN ACHIEVED.
IN THE FIELD OF INDUSTRIAL SAFETY, THE COMPANY HAS SENT SOME 120 WORKERS TO SAFETY TRAINING COURSES RUN BY THE LABOUR DEPARTMEPT, AND HAS A GOOD SAFETY RECORD AS A RESULT OF HAVING COMPREHENSIVE SAFETY RULES AND MAKING SAFETY TRAINING AN INTEGRAL PART OF STAFF TRAINING,
APART FROM SUCH WELFARE BENEFITS AS FREE MEDICAL CARE AND NON-CONTRIBUTORY RETIREMENT GRANT, THE COMPANY OPERATES A SYSTEM OF JOINT CONSULTATION. SUCH A SYSTEM, SAID MR. PRICE, PROVIDES A MOST EFFECTIVE MEHTOD OF COMMUNICATING WITH EMPLOYEES AND SO CULTIVATING HARMONIOUS MANAGEMENT- LABOUR RELATIONS.
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