XN000022-1973-10-17 — Page 66

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Wednesday, October 17, 1973

Some progress has been made this year with industrial safety

regulations, but there is a long way to go and the rate of industrial accidents

remains alarmingly high.

success.

The introduction of the Labour Tribunal, has proved an immediate

The principal piece of labour legislation we propose for this

session is a major addition to the Ordinance to provide for severance payments

to workers whose services are terminated through no fault of their own,

Before leaving the subject of labour, I would like to apologise

for the delay in setting up the Hong Kong Training Council, to continue the

valuable work started by its predecessor, the Industrial Training Advisory

Committee. The Council is now established and faces a major challonge.

I am sure that it will meet it.

New Territories

And now a word about the New Territories.

I am conscious of the

concern of some Honourable Members that the Government should be more even

handed as between the urban areas and the New Territories in the programmos

it undertakes. This concern reflects the views of the Heung Yee Kuk.

The large social programmes, housing, education, medical services

and social welfare, will of course benefit the New Territories as much as,

or even more than the old urban areas, and will contribute substantially to the

standard of life and amenities in the New Territories.

/But the

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