TNAG-0231-FCO40-267-Conditions-of-employment-of-labour-force-in-Hong-Kong-1970 — Page 117

AR EASTERN ECONOMIC REVIEW

MARCH 12, 1970

Peso's persisting problems... India budgets or growth... Nepal wants UN-built roads. Brunei looks beyond oil... Outlook for jade

Memo

EUROPE'S GROWING INTEREST IN PACT WITH JAPAN

HB recent visit to Tokyo of Mr Jean Deniau, member of the European Coth- ission who looks after trade policy, was omething of a victory for another Com- on Market institution, the European arliament Since 1963 the Parliament, hose members are drawn from the six ational legislatures, has been backing the Commission's efforts to persuade member, overnments to conclude a trade agree- hent with Japan.

For the European Parliament a trade greement is only the first step; it would' ke the Community to collaborate with pan in industrial and financial matters Iso. In fact during its last session the arliament adopted a resolution calling or economic co-operation which would ot be limited to questions of trade but would include all fields of common terest, such as capital movements and world trade in raw materials. The re- blution also called for contacts with.....

embers of the Japanese Parliament. But all this enthusiasm has not blind- members to the problems that face egotiators. The resolution adopted by e Parliament, while calling for the pro- ressive liberalisation of trade, noted that iven the sensitive nature of certain pro- ucts the EEC would have to draw up list of products for which special heasures", including import quotas, ould be necessary, if only temporarily. addition the agreement would have to nclude a safeguard clause which either de could invoke if it felt that imports ere disrupting or threatening to disrupt,

market.

IDEAS ON NIGHT SHIFT FOR WOMEN WORKERS

'HE decision of the Hongkong govern- ent to ease the restrictions on night ork by women has so far provoked little ublic debate. The Colony has suffered n acute shortage of labour since the arly 1960s, a situation aggravated by he legislation passed to steadily reduce

the permitted hours of work by women and young persons which is also affect- ing the length of the working week for male employees. Under the circum. stances, the move to increase the available supplies of workers by allowing women to work night shifts under strictly con- trolled conditions made sense.

Now however, the signs are that the labour force is becoming disturbed by the government's decision. Women workers, in particular, seem distressed by the im plications of the relaxation. The are voicing fears about its impact on domestic life and also feel afraid that their em- ployers may attempt to make them put double-shift working. Small delegations in longer hours by shift-and-a-half ̈ ́or,

have made two visits to the Hongkong government's grass-root representatives, the City District Officers, to voice their

concern.

A meeting will be held later this week

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THE NUMBERS

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BUSINESS REVIEW

of workers mainly from North Kowloon to discuss ways of opposing the easing of the ban on night work for women. So far, the numbers involved in the protests are small and no indications have emerged of direct industrial action such as strikes to force the government to re-

of the times that even a minority of the consider its new policy. But it is a sign

local labour force is willing to get to gether to discuss ways and means of forcing the government to adopt labour policies more in tune with the work force's views.

GAME: 7, 8 OR 6?

BERNARDINO RONQUILLO, MANILA

T looks as though the hapless Peso is destined to grow a lot more ema- ciated before it starts to grow stronger.

process which is expected, hopefully, to 'establish a new exchange rate of 6 to the US dollar. There was some con- Its performance during the first days of fusion on the first day of CB Circular the "backdoor devaluation" has been 289, for bankers themselves did not worse than expected. One day it dipped''know how to go about implementing as low as 7 to a US dollar, a massive the order. On the second day at Forex 75% fall from the previous official rate (Foreign of 3.90. And there were fears that the new

Exchange Centre), Manila's dollar worst was yet to be.

trading enclave where bankers act as brokers, the rate fluctu- ated between 5.00 and 5.70, reflecting some underlying strength as a result of

the Peso, the dollar credits committed to support

Businessmen in Manila have never Bad it so bad. The student-led/social, that they had already had to cope with unrest had done enough damage. Before

a year of tightening credit and other economic restrictions. Then the fall of the Peso.

4.

These included, besides the $27.5 mil- lion third credit tranche from the IMF, $40 million from a syndicate of USį Although devaluation was very much commercial banks and $40 million from in the air for quite some time, there was the US Federal Reserve Bank as ad- little indication that the "currency re-vances against the Philippines' gold form" announced on February 21 would come a this early stage and when Con- gress was in session.

What the Central Bank has done is seen as the beginning of a devaluation

holdings. A secondary stabilisation loan of about $120 million from consortium of US and Japanese banks ported coming.

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The new accommodations

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