TNAG-0125-FCO40-161-Labour-force-working-conditions-1969 — Page 21

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4.

(2) statutory requirement that wages should be

paid weekly;

(3) statutory obligation on the employer to report

failure to pay wages;

(4) increasing the amount of the wages given

priority under both the Bankruptcy and

Companies Ordinances.

The Overseas Labour Adviser has not yet been able to consider Hong Kong's report on progress with these four measures. As seen in the Department, Hong Kong has made considerable progress. It is hoped to enact the legislation providing for (1) by the end of this year and legislation has been drafted to cover (4) which is to come forward later in the session. Although there is some doubt about the practicability of trying to force an employer to report his failure to pay wages (3) above this is still being examined; at the very least Hong Kong have it in mind to enact legislation along the lines of Section 13(1) of the Singapore Employment Act, 1968, which would provide that a contract is deemed to be broken by an employer if he fails to pay wages by the due date or within a permitted period. The main difficulty arises over the requirement that wages should be paid weekly (2) above. A note prepared by Hong Kong's Adviser on Labour Legislation argues to some effect against this measure; he urges that current usage (in industry wages are generally paid twice or thrice monthly) is largely acceptable to employees who would probably resent change; he also argues that there are certain practical difficulties about more frequent payment. His conclusion is that change to payment on a weekly payment should be left to come about by agreement between employers and employees.

5. Without the views of the Overseas Labour Adviser it has not

been possible to make a submission on this issue. We hope to have his views shortly.

Hong Kong Department,

20 November, 1969.

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