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I have no doubt that it is the inherent strengths of our workforce
that will enable Hong Kong to continue to flourish in the 1980's. But I
do ask, Mr Chairman, that we as a community (and particularly those in
management) take not our workers for granted. In my experience, their
aspirations are modest and usually their requests realistic. The principle
of "fair shares for all" may have been regarded by many as revolutionary in
the 1960's. I am confident that most perhaps all of us here tonight
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accept that principle, personally and individually, as reasonable and right;
is it too much to ask that in the 1980's our business community generally,
should see the good sense of it, to the general benefit?
I have heard it suggested that the availability of immigrant
semi-skilled and unskilled workers at the present time has assisted our
economy to expand: that it has had a "beneficial" effect on wage rates and
thus upon Hong Kong's competitiveness; has indeed, it is claimed, helped
labour-management relations by having a sobering effect on so-called
"unreasonable" wage demands.
Well, no one can deny that because the latest influx of people
came at a time when our labour market was tight it has been possible to
provide most of them with employment: indeed, one of the wonders of this
past year has been that most of these immigrants (a high percentage of them
are young, 18 to 26, and male) have found employment. But I need hardly
remind this audience of the vulnerability of our economy to changes in
the pattern of world trade. When our economy is flourishing, it is all
too easy to forget the unhappy times of 1973 and 74 when the situation
was far from rosy. It is, also, perhaps, convenient to overlook the fact
that Hong Kong's workers responded magnificently at that time by tightening
their belts and sharing the work that was available. They have a right
to a fair share of our prosperity:
and especially should this be seen to
be the case when
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as now
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we are prospering as a community.
If there is..