TNAG-0129-FCO40-165-Labour-legislation-1970 — Page 26

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Page 8 Tuesday, September 30, 1969

World's worst labour laws

T must be of no credit to Hongkong that we have the worst labour laws in the world, or rather, the most backward. But if such criticism passes off like water on a duck, at least the Government should be concerned with the growing number of labour disputes which are nearing explosion point.

A University lecturer, who on Sunday slated the. Government for its out-of-date legislation, warned that there would be more labour troubles in the near future if the law was not amended. Of course, he was only stating what has been stated before by people even more important.

The Hongkong Government has been accused, often enough, of dragging Its feet in implementing much needed labour reforms. Workers remain unprotected and exposed to frequent exploitation by employers. There is still no minimum wage law, and the Shops Act to protect about 200,000 shop employees from being exploited or victimised, is still hanging in the air.

And what about the Government's promise of new labour legislation outlined by the Commissioner of Labour, Mr. R.M. Hetherington nearly two years ago? In the pipeline, too, were such wonderful things as a scheme for a minimum age law for workers in hotels, boarding houses and restaurants?

While the Government hibernates on the charter, we have had such disgraceful cases as the Fairwear and Goodman affairs, which found workers deprived of their rightful wages. There was hope of a labour court to deal with such problems as non-payment of salaries, but again, it proved to be just another promise lost in the Labour Department's pipeline to nowhere.

Now an Urban Councillor is calling for a joint effort by labour, management and the Government to provide money for a fund for unemployed workers thrown out of work through no fault of their own.

The Councillor, Dr. H.L. Hu thinks that a fund of this nature could provide some form of relief for the poor workers. He is also calling for other measures nothing that has not been shouted for before. Will he.get. a hearing?

T

THE

Police lesson for

the mini-busmen

BEHIND THA

Is Kret going's

MOSCOW'S

ODD

DENIAL that i knows anything about Mao Tsetung's health suggests that it may, in fact, know some- thing about what is going on in Red China: perhaps a jockeying for position in advance of a power struggle yet to coma in Peking.

Soviet officialdom used the device of cocktail party

for non-western correspop- dents to spread the word that rumours about Mao attributed to Soviet sources were “provocative”. By that, it may mean that those who spread such reports are trying to Peking suspicions of the Kremlin.

arouse new

Hopeful

I there arc HOW factions nfanoeuvring in Peking Ju anticipa tion of Mao's retite- ment from the scene. Moscow hay not want to rock/the boat. The

Kremlin

emlin may be hope. ful that a new group will "ekterge in China which The

lesson given by the police at Yuen tong proud par down well with doublemaking, law-dolving RõDEID IN

REGISTRY No.51

C

KOSYGIN AND BREZ

20th anniversary of it founding. A traml fe such Communist cel bration, a selection e wan publishe

the

anblume.

1:

-7 OCT 1969

MIKIL SIS

F