C 14
1st July. At the same time additional protection was given to tenants by imposing penalties on landlords obtaining illegal increase of rent by misrepresentation or threat of applying for or taking action upon a certificate for reconstruction. The real effect of the 18% increase has been obscured by the General Strike and Boycott, but there can at the time of writing be no doubt as to the adequacy per capita of the housing supply.
FACTORIES.
Industrial Employment of Children Ordinance No. 22 of 1922.
Children in Factories.-There are 30 factories-23 in Kowloon and 7 in Hongkong-employing a total of 300 children under the age of 15 years. (There are of course many other factories which do not employ children.) Of the 300 children, the knitting industry employs 150, cigarette and cigar making 110, printing and allied trades 10 and other miscellaneous trades 20. The Canton Nanyang Bros. Tobacco Co., Ltd. is the largest employer of child labour in the Colony with 105 children.
Frequent visits were paid to all factories during the year. Some minor irregularities were discovered and dealt with by letter to the factory owners, or personal representation to the managers. No serious breach of the Ordinance has occurred.
The work done by children in the factories is of a very light nature and calls for quickness and deftness of fingers rather than strength. Filling cigarette packets, pasting on labels and turning or unpicking cotton socks being the work usually given to children. Seats are provided in most of the factories and the children generally do not appear to be affected by the work. In the knitting factories especially the discipline is far from strict and the children move about a good deal. In the cigarette factories where the work is more closely organised and supervision is stricter, the children are paid by piecework and the monotony of the work appears to affect their spirits.
The knitting industry suffered heavily during the strike and subsequent boycott. Many factories closed down for a month or more during June and July owing to the absence of workers from the Colony. From August onwards the workers began to dribble back, until at the end of the year most of the factories had their full complement or rather as many as they could find work for. Trade is still dull owing to the difficulty of communicating with the neighbouring provinces. Those firms who trade with Singapore and other places not affected by the boycott are in a better position: one firm, the Kam Hing Knitting Co. operating three factories in Kowloon and employing 1,300 people, have a night shift in addition to the full staff of day workers.
C 14
1st July. At the same time additional protection was given to tenants by imposing penalties on landlords obtaining illegal increase of rent by misrepresentation or threat of applying for or taking action upon a certificate for reconstruction. The real effect of the 18% increase has been obscured by the General Strike and Boycott, but there can at the time of writing be no doubt as to the adequacy per capita of the housing supply.
FACTORIES.
Industrial Employment of Children Ordinance No. 22 of 1922.
Children in
in Factories.-There are 30 factories-23 in Kowloon and 7 in Hongkong-employing a total of 300 children under the age of 15 years. (There are of course many other factories which do not employ children.) Of the 300 children, the knitting industry employs 150, cigarette and cigar making 110, printing and allied trades 10 and other miscellaneous trades 20. The Canton Nanyang Bros. Tobacco Co., Ltd. IS the largest employer of child labour in the Colony with 105 children.
Frequent visits were paid to all factories during the year. Some minor irregularities were discovered and dealt with by letter to the factory owners, or personal representation to the managers. No serious breach of the Ordinance has occurred.
The work done by children in the factories is of a very light nature and calls for quickness and deftness of fingers rather than strength. Filling cigarette packets, pasting on labels and turning or unpicking cotton socks being the work usually given to children. Seats are provided in most of the factories and the children generally do not appear to be affected by the work. In the knitting factories especially the discipline is far from strict and the children move about a good deal. In the cigarette factories where the work is more closely organised and supervision is stricter, the children are paid by piccework and the monotony of the work appears to affect their spirits.
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The knitting industry suffered heavily during the strike and subsequent boycott. Many factories closed down for a month or more during June and July owing to the absence of workers from the Colony. From August onwards the workers began to dribble back, until at the end of the year most of the factories had their full complement or rather as many as they could find work for. Trade is still dull owing to the difficulty of com- municating with the neighbouring provinces. Those firms who trade with Singapore and other places not affected by the boycott are in a better position: one firm, the Kam Hing Knitting Co. operating three factories in Kowloon and employing 1,300 people, have a night shift in addition to the full staff of day workers.
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