C 9
LABOUR.
General:
53. Labour conditions in the colony during 1931 were quiet. Union activities have been directed mainly along routine lines and there has been an absence of agitation. Wages have maintained a level in most cases unchanged from that of the previous year.
54. The demand for labour in the building trade was well maintained.
Disputes and Strikes:
55. In January this office helped to settle a dispute arising out of certain extra work required from some 200 coolies employed on construction work near Shek Li Pui.
56. In September the sawyers applied for an increase of wages, and after protracted discussions, in which this office assisted, an agreement was signed in December by the majority of the masters giving a small increase. Some of the masters did not agree and the year closed with the affairs of this union still somewhat unsettled, though work has not been interrupted.
57. The Barbers' Union was proscribed in October on account of activities which bore no relation to the barber's art.
58. The most difficult negotiations of the year turned round the petition of the Coal Coolies for an increase in wages. The details of these negotiations and of the circumstances of the trade are too complicated to be set forth in this Report, but it was found that without increasing the rates paid by the majority of the merchants to the chief contractors, the actual coolies at the bottom of the scale would still be enabled to receive a reasonable increase on their daily wage, by means of readjustments in intermediate links of the chain of employment.
59. The new arrangement came into force on January 1st, 1932.
60. Invaluable assistance was given by Mr. Li Yau-tsun, C.B.E., during these negotiations, in which this office kept in close touch with the Secretary of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce.
61. Throughout the year the assistance of the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce was freely given to the Secretary for Chinese Affairs in any matter in which its help and advice were sought.
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C 9
LABOUR.
General:
53. Labour conditions in the colony during 1931 were quiet. Union activities have been directed mainly along routine lines and there has been an absence of agitation. Wages have maintained a level in most cases unchanged from that of the previous year.
54. The demand for labour in the building trade was well maintained.
Disputes and Strikes:
55. In January this office helped to settle a dispute arising out of certain extra work required from some 200 coolies employed on construction work near Shek Li Pui.
56. In September the sawyers applied for an increase of wages, and after protracted discussions, in which this office assisted, an agreement was signed in December by the majority of the masters giving a small increase. Some of the masters did not agree and the year closed with the affairs of this union still somewhat unsettled, though work has not been interrupted.
57. The Barbers' Union was proscribed in October on account of activities which bore no relation to the barber's art.
58. The most difficult negotiations of the year turned round the petition of the Coal Coolies for an increase in wages. The details of these negotiations and of the circumstances of the trade are too complicated to be set forth in this Report, but it was found that without increasing the rates paid by the majority of the merchants to the chief contractors, the actual coolies at the bottom of the scale would still be enabled to receive a reasonable increase on their daily wage, by means of readjustments in intermediate links of the chain of employ- ment.
59. The new arrangement came into force on January 1st, 1932.
60. Invaluable assistance was given by Mr. Li Yau-tsun, C.B.E., during these negotiations, in which this office kept in close touch with the Secretary of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce.
61. Throughout the year the assistance of the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce was freely given to the Secretary for Chinese Affairs in any matter in which its help and advice were sought.
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