TNAG-0087-FCO40-123-Conditions-of-employment-for-Hong-Kong-Chinese-working-in-th-1969 — Page 101

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6.

The unscrupulous worker who walks out of his job on being given an assisted passage to the United Kingdom presents a difficult problem. Mr. Lawrence is quite right when he argues that, in such

You may circumstances, the contract is too favourable to the worker. recollect that the requirements of section 5 (2) (K) of the ordinance comply with article 13 of International Labour Convention no. 64 which the United Kingdom has ratified. We quoted the relevant article to Mr. Burns in our letter (reference OE/UK/POL) of 14th September, 1966. As you say in your letter, there is nothing which we can think of as a suitable corrective to this bias. There is an additional complication. I understand that the United Kingdom Aliens Order, 1953, requires an employer to repatriate an alien worker if called on to do so by the competent authority. To what extent this order would apply to workers recruited in Hong Kong I do not know. I suppose that we could distinguish between British and alien workers but this would certainly complicate the processes.

7.

I would welcome your further observations on the administration of the ordinance and the ordinance itself. As I have written in earlier correspondence I welcome all constructive criticism from Mr. Burns and others because we genuinely wish to help all parties as far as their conflicting interests permit. I hope this letter may help.

Best wishes

Mr. P.C.M. Sedgwick, C.M.G. Director

Hong Kong Government Office 54 Pall Mall

London S.W.1 ENGLAND

Bolo

(R. M. Hetherington) Commissioner of Labour