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governing their working conditions. In order to get a better perspective of how shop owners and fokis really viewed the proposal for a Shops Act, staff of the City District Offices conducted limited surveys of shops in their respective districts. These surveys were made in a discreet manner and in such a way as not to give the impression that we were probing into this particular subject; (for example, we started by talking about any one topical event of the week, then touched on the Shops Act and let the owners and fokis do as much talking as they were inclined to, and then finished by discussing a third subject). No attempt was made to take a proper sample, nor can it be claimed that the number of shops approached was sufficiently large to ensure that the results were completely free of any bias. There were wide differences of understanding about what newspaper references to a "Shops Act" had meant, and for the purpose of our enquiries we said that what we were discussing was the possibility of legislation to provide for most or all of the following matters the maximum hours of work, the minimum number of rest days, sickness allowances, notice of dismissal, and minimum rates of pay. It was on this basis that we proceeded with our enquiries.
Shop employees in the Colony are engaged in a very wide variety of trades, and their working conditions can be vastly different. It would be well nigh impossible to cover all of them, but the following conditions apply to the great majority of them :
No. of working hours : 11 to 13 per day
Wages
$200-$500, per lunar month depending on their length of service and position in the shop
No. of rest days
2 per lunar month
Meals : 2 meals provided daily by employers
Sick leave
Lodging : sleeping facilities usually provided by the shop
short leave usually granted without deduction in salary except in cases where the fokis are paid daily rates or piece rates
Double pay
an additional one month's pay is given over and above the Chinese New Year Bonus
Chinese New Year Bonus
General :
Comments by Fokis
this usually comes up to about one month's salary, depending on the shop's profit, and is in addition to double pay
although the shops open for long hours, this does not mean that the fokis work continuously throughout the day. When business is slack, they usually sit around, chatting with one another or even leave the shop for a short while. They very seldom work beyond the closing hours.
The following cases are typical among fokis in traditional Chinese shops :
(1) Mr. Fo
Mr. Fo works as a salesman in a small shop selling sundry commodities like shirts, socks, handkerchiefs, soap, tooth-paste, etc.
/The
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