TNAG-0096-FCO40-132-Hong-Kong-Trade-Unions-1968 — Page 27

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XCC(68)5

CONFIDENTIAL

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The second bill will amend the qualifications for holidays with pay and provide for improved entitlements to sickness allowance, especially after long service.

(iv) Trade Union Registration (Amendment) Bill

This bill has been initiated by the Registrar of Trade Unions. Its purpose is to revise certain provisions, including those relating to picketing add intimidation, in the light of experience and of recent events,

(v) Legislation relating to the minimum age of employment

in hotels, boarding houses, restaurants, and hawking. For social reasons it is proposed to protect young persons in selected sectors of non-industrial employment where exposure to vice is probable, and to control young persons who hawk. This legislation is being prepared jointly by the Commissioner of Labour, Secretary for Chinese Affairs, the Director of Commerce and Industry, and the Director of Urban Services. It is likely that enforcement will be a responsibility of the Women and Young Persons Section of the Labour Department.

(vi) Illegal Strikes and Lock-outs (Amendment) Bill

This bill will provide permanent legislation in place of the present ordinance, which must be renewed annually. It will deal with the problem of strikes and lock-outs in essential services, which are not in furtherance of a trade dispute.

(vii) Apprenticeship Bill

This will be a comprehensive measure to deal with all aspects of apprenticeship, which are at present inade- quately provided for in the Employers and Servants Ordinance. The subjects dealt with would include the content of apprenticeship contracts, the protection of apprentices, and the approval of apprenticeship training schemes.

(viii) Legislation on severance pay on redundancy

Experience in conciliation work reveals that one of the main causes of disputes is the terms on which workers are dismissed through no fault of their own. The proposed legislation will prescribe minimum entitlements on the basis of length of service.

(ix) Legislation on rest days in shops and service industries

for women and young persons

This bill proposes to extend the requirement of one rest day in every seven days into non-industrial sectors.

(x) Legislation on joint consultation

This bill will provide for the establishment of joint consultation machinery in organizations employing more

than a prescribed number of workers. It is not proposed however to proceed with this legislation until further experience has been gained as a result of the present efforts of the Labour Department to encourage the voluntary introduction of such machinery.

CONFIDENTIAL