TNAG-0297-FCO40-333-Employment-of-women-at-night-in-industrial-undertakings-in-H-1971 — Page 25

CONFIDENTIAL

9

Mr iyord

Sir Liergen

NIGHT WORK FOR WOMEN

1.

I have now sent a telegram in reply to the Governor's telegram No. 355 telling him that Ministers have no objection to the proposals for extending this scheme for a further 12 months. There are one or two points which Mr Foggon thinks should be made to the Hong Kong Government and this will be done by letter.

2. As regards the points made in the Governor's telegram No. 355, I think I must place on record that the Governor has been placed "in an extremely difficult position" entirely because the Hong Kong Government have taken such a long time in deciding on the terms on which the scheme should be continued in existence. The Governor has correctly referred to Hong Kong saving despatch No. 275 of 4 March 1970 and to the need foreseen then for adequate warning to industry in the event of He cannot now blame the FCO any changes in the arrangements. for delaying this matter when the proposals were only sent off from Hong Kong on 11 May and when, as the Hong Kong Government repeatedly tell us, it takes up to a fortnight for communications from the Colony to reach us. Hong Kong are in fact lucky that on this occasion we received their saving despatch on 17 May and not a week or so after that date.

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3. Apart from this basic point I find this latest telegram - the from Hong Kong disturbingly full of "special pleading" reference to the Government being saddled with "an embarrassing moral liability for compensating some employers who became forced

Again the to pay additional wages in lieu of notice". reference - which we have had before -direct intervention by HMG". Any astonishment already expressed in Executive Council at the delay in making the announcement can only have been occasioned as a result of delay in the Hong Kong Government machine.

4. I think that these papers also should be shown to Mr MacLehose, as yet another example of the way in which the Hong Kong Government goes about its business.

Mr Clewley An G

27 May 1971

1.6.76.

Please have

return

Eɣania

ETO Laird

Hong Kong Department

brief prepared for the Governor's

setting not the train of events including

the detail of when

the Schannathan

was the date when the provisional

tar

-་.

CONFIDENT IAL espect 7

introduced; what

the provisional periodi

ram out; when

did I ear his tel etc new 28/v