TNAG-0522-FCO40-617-Discussions-with-Sir-Murray-MacLehose--Governor-of-Hong-Kong-1975 — Page 103

Chud

17

DKK 5'23.

1975

SECRET

3.

In answer to a question from Mr Ennals, Sir Murray MacLehose said the question of the composition of the Inland Revenue Ordinance Review Committee could not be considered until discussion

of the 1975/76 Budget had been completed. It would be necessary to recruit the Committee's chairman, and perhaps some of its staff, from outside Hong Kong, and rapid action could not be expected. It

was not planned to start work until 1976.

II LABOUR AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS

4.

Lord Goronwy-Roberts asked whether the cooling off period proposed in the Labour Relations Bill would cause difficulty in Hong Kong. Ministers were also concerned about possible reactions from the British TUC who had asked to see the Bill. Sir Murray MacLehose replied that he too had had doubts about this provision which he thought would be inoperable in practice; but provision for a cooling off period had been included on the unanimous advice of the Labour Advisory Board on which employers and trade unions were equally represented. Mr Ennals and Lord Goronwy-Roberts both agreed that if it really would serve a useful function in Hong Kong, it could be defended in London on the grounds that conditions in Hong Kong were very different from those in the United Kingdom. It would be for the Governor to judge whether it really would be useful in Hong Kong. If not, it might be regarded as an unnecessary

embarrassment.

5.

Lord Goronwy-Roberts also asked whether Hong Kong might introduce a "National Provident Fund" scheme on the lines of that already operating in Singapore. Sir Murray MacLehose said the Hong Kong Government were studying the progress of a pilot scheme recently introduced by the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank. He had some doubts on whether Hong Kong workers would generally welcome such a scheme: although it would be possible to base it purely on employers' (and perhaps Government) contributions, it might be better in that case merely to widen the tax base. Lord Goronwy-Roberts suggested that China might have some ideological objection to a scheme involving workers' contributions; he thought the Hong Kong Government should study the options carefully before taking any definite decisions.

In the