XN000022-1996-11-13 — Page 18

Reply:

(b)

Mr President,

7 -

whether, in putting forward the proposal to repeal the Regulations, the Government has sought the medical sector's opinion as to whether the repeal of the provisions in the Regulations relating to carrying of weights by women may result in women suffering from gynaecological diseases (such as excessive menstrual flow, menstrual pain, stoppage of menstruation and prolapse of uterus) while moving heavy objects at work; if so, what the details are; if not, why not?

Before I reply to the specific parts of the Question, I should point out that Regulations 4 and 6 are two of the eight Regulations containing women-specific employment restriction provisions under the Women and Young Persons (Industry) Regulations. These provisions will become legally incompatible with the Sex Discrimination Ordinance(SDO), after the grace period for exempting such provisions from the application of the SDO expires on 13 July 1997 under Section 57 of the Ordinance. It is therefore technically necessary to repeal these provisions under these Regulations before the aforesaid date in order to render the entire set of Regulations compatible with the SDO.

As regards Part (a) of the Question, Regulation 4 of the Women and Young Persons (Industry) Regulations prohibits the employment of women (and young persons) from underground work in any mine or quarry, or in any industrial undertaking involving a tunnelling operation.

This Regulation is in line with International Labour Convention (ILC) No.45 which prohibits the employment of female workers from underground work in any mines. ILC No. 45 was ratified by the United Kingdom (UK) in 1936 and extended to Hong Kong without modification in 1950 by virtue of UK's ratification of ILC No.83, which provides that a ratifying member should make a declaration on the extent to which the provisions of a prescribed list of ILCs should be applied to its Non- Metropolitan Territories. In 1988, UK denounced ILC No. 45 on the ground of providing equal employment opportunities for men and women. The Convention, however, continues to apply to Hong Kong by virtue of the above declaration made by UK under ILC No. 83 in 1950. Following the repeal of Regulation 4 of the Women and Young Persons (Industry) Regulations, the UK has to make a declaration to the International Labour Organisation that ILC No. 45 ceases to apply to Hong Kong.