Foreign and Commonwealth Office London S.W.1
Please B.V. low (19)
weaks re:
16.6.69.
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RESTRICTED
271
SAVING DESPATCH
HKK 5/3
From the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth
To the Governor, HONG KONG
12 June, 1969
No. 285
Affairs
Your Saving Despatch No. 241 of 5 March.
The Employment of Women at Night
in Industrial Establishments
The Department of Employment and Productivity have advised us that the figures quoted in the Economist's article of 15 February, 1969 were correct, as of 31 December, 1967. The corresponding figures for 31 March, 1969 were 119,386, out of a total of 2,721,000 employed in manufacturing industries in February 1969.
2.
The Economist's article also referred to a forthcoming report by a sub-committee of the National Joint Advisory Council, investi- gating the restrictive regulations of the Factories Act 1961, and possible changes thereto. This report has now been published (3 copies enclosed). The Table on pages 44-45 gives a breakdown of special exemption orders. On 31 March, 1969 the column relating to women on night shifts should read: 3,486; 68; 581; 1,040; 172; 14; 305; 175; 56; Nil; 2,115; 14; 210; 2,764; Total 11,000. Pages 36-42 of the report detail existing restrictions and conditions of exemption, but Section II of the report records disagreement as to whether restrictions on women's hours are still needed under present conditions in the UK. The employers (CBI) and DEP officials take the view that they are not, and the latter have recently prepared and circulated a paper (also enclosed) to the CBI, TUC, etc on an "in confidence not for publication" basis which suggests inter alia that the restrictions against women should be abolished. It is only infrequently that an application for an exemption order is turned down, even for night work, and the DEP would not normally object if the women themselves were willing and their safety, and welfare were not jeopardised.
3.
health
The DEP regard this policy as being best suited to prevailing social and economic conditions in this country, bearing in mind the strong trade unions structure in most industries, the presence of Wages Councils in those other industries, such as textile finishing, where the Union influence is limited, and the Government's commit- ment to the principle of equal pay. Chapter 10 of the Industrial Relations Handbook refers to the latter Councils, a copy of which will be forwarded to you as soon as possible. It must also be remembered that any relaxation of restrictions would not affect the Safety, Health and Welfare Sections of the Factories Act.
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