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discovered that 967, or approximately one-fifth of the factories visited, had been locked, leaving only 4,792 undertakings still in operation, and employing 104,280 workers. A total of 36 childre.. were found working illegally in 32 industrial undertakings.
29. No doubt as a result of publicity for the campaigns, the number of cases of illegal employment has shown a progressive reduction in each campaign. In 1972/73 207 cases involving 268 children were brought before the courts. The new type of identity card being introduced (which will include a photograph) should make the task of identifying children employed in industry a great deal easier.
30. The Factories and Industrial Undertakings Regulations prohibi the employment in industry of children under the age of 14 and it is a proper question to ask whether this restriction ought not to s extended to all employment. There are clear anomalies; the work of a dim sum boy, for example, can be a good deal more arduous than certain light work in, say, garment factories - and the hours worked may be a good deal longer. An answer to the dilemma lies first, however, in education. Until post-primary education is available for the great majority of children (it is aimed to provide 3 years secondary education to the 12-14 age group within 8-10 years), a general restriction on the employment of children in that group
given the prevailing overcrowding in homes and the shortage of recreational facilities - could only lead to a worsenin of the existing serious problem of juvenile delinquency. The employment of children in work where they may be exposed to moral hazards is already controlled.
Workmen's Compensation Ordinance
31. The question has been raised whether the Workmen's Compensatier Ordinance (Cap.282) should be amended to require employers to take out insurance against workmen's compensation risks. In the cir- cumstances of Hong Kong, it is doubtful whether compulsory insurance of this kind is justified as:-
(a)
There is no evidence of any serious failure on the part of employers to meet their obligations. For example, from 1971 to 1973 there were 99 fatal cases in which employers chose not to insure against their liabilities. In only
3 cases was there failure to pay full compensation.
(b) of 29,343 non-fatal workmen's compensation cases reported
in 1972, over 99% received full compensation, although on? 77% of the employers were insured against these risks.
(c) It is likely that there would be some evasion of compulsor
insurance and the employers most likely to seek to evade the law would be precisely those with inadequate resources who would not be able to meet their obligations.
(d) The checking of insurance policies would impose an
unproductive extra burden on the labour Inspectorate.
(e) Compulsory insurance would probably lead to an increase in
rates charged by insurance companies rather than a decrease since employers would not have the option, as they have
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