TNAG-0088-FCO40-124-Social-welfare-working-conditions-in-Hong-Kong-1967 — Page 18

CONFIDENTIAL

OUTWARD TELEGRAM

FROM THE COMMONWEALTH OFFICE (The Secretary of State)

TO HONG KONG (Sir D. Trench)

Cypher

HWB 18/6

Sent 21st April, 1967

220OZ

IMMEDIATE

CONFIDENTIAL

No. 760

Só

Your telegram No. 481.

Hours of Work for Women and Young Persons.

Minister of State is very disquieted at the possibility that considerable delay may now arise before these regulations are introduced. It would, therefore, be appreciated if you would examine urgently the procedures described in paragraph 3 of your telegram to consider to what extent these can be telescoped. In particular, Minister of State would like to see the draft of the new Regulations, in the form in which you think they should be enacted, put in hand so that the Labour Advisory Board has a formal draft in front of it at its next meeting.

2. Since the principal organisations which parti- pated in the Working Party are no doubt represented on the Board it is not clear why there should be a need for any separate consultation. Moreover, since the Working Party has completed its Report there may be a residual obliga- tion to keep the members informed as to decisions taken but we should not have thought it was necessary to enter into any further discussions or consultations with members of the Working Party.

3. As regards your paragraph 5 we fully recognise the dangers to which you refer and realise with equal force the difficulties that you are up against. The reaction of Hong Kong manufacturers is doubtless unchanged since 1958 when pressure was exerted to reduce the daily maximum hours of work for women and young persons from 12 - 10. At that time the reduction was announced as a first step towards further improvement. But nine years have now elapsed since that step was taken; and we have got no further than the consideration of legislation which in its practical effect will leave untouched for some time the hours of work in those industries where excessive hours of work are the general rule,

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