this country, and morale must undoubtedly have been affected. The position of the Commissioner of Labour and his Deputy (a comparatively inexperienced newcomer) requires critical examination in view of the failure of the Department to make any serious impact on labour conditions in recent years - or to improve its standing and respect in the public eye. The degree of responsi- bility delegated to the two experienced Senior Labour Officers needs looking into, since these two officers (specially brought in from outside) provide the Depart- ment's professional and technical backbone. The strengthening of the Inspectorate must be regarded also as essential to the success of (a) above.
(o) Changes in legislation
Other changes in labour legislation which require
examination are:
(1) weekly day of rest;
(11)
protective legislation in non-industrial employment;
(111) power to fix minimum wages.
(d) Industrial relations
With the Left Wing unions virtually out of action and the Right Wing unions comparatively ineffective, there is a vacuum in industrial relations in Hong Kong which needs to be filled. There will be a tendency among many employers to take advantage of the present situation to adopt an anti-union attitude, and the very weakness of workers' representation may result, when employers have lost their current fears, in a return to the old intransigent ways which led up to the recent trade disputes, which were a precursor to the current troubles. The Singapore employers have given some excellent advice and it needs to be established to what extent the Department of Labour has a policy and how it is pressing forward with it. From this distance, priority
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