TNAG-0531-FCO40-626-Application-of-International-Labour-Convention-to-Hong-Kong-1975 — Page 256

SAVING TELEGRAM

RECEIVED IN

44

BY BAG

REGISTRY No. $1

FM FCO 1116302

13 AUG 1975

(HXL 7/393/6)

UNCLASSIFIED

HKK 5/31

TO ROUTINE GOVERNOR HONG KONG TELNO 50 SAVING OF 11 AUGUST.

YOUR SAVING TELEGRAM NO. 522 OF 26 MAY 1975: APPLICATION OF INTERNATIONAL LABOUR CONVENTION NO. 5 TO HONG KONG

1. In the event, the Observation made by the ILO's Committee of Experts in relation to the application of this Convention to Hong Kong was not discussed at Conference with the result that a reply will have to be given to the Observation in the next report made on Convention No. 5 under Article 22.

2. This report will not be called for until 1976 and it may be expected that at that time the Observation will be repeated in the form of a Direct Request.

3. In view of the long standing nature of the Committee of Experts' request that the law should be amended in order to give full effect to the provisions of Convention No. 5, the Labour Commissioner, Mr I R Price, was advised of the need to take early action in this respect. He stated however that in his view it was unlikely that the law would be amended before the review of the Factories and Industria. Undertakings Ordinance which is currently taking place was completed. This was expected to be during the first half of 1976 but Mr Price suggested that any consequential amendments could not be expected before the end of 1976 at the

earliest.

4. While it is appreciated that it may be more convenient to make one comprehensive amendment to the existing legislation it is in our view unwise to delay further what amounts to little more than a minor amendment to the law. Unless the law is so

*

amended in the very near future we are likely to run into difficulties with the ILO's Committee of Experts disproportionate to the size of the problem. It cannot be expected that the matter

/will

;