TNAG-0571-FCO40-704-Planning-paper-on-Hong-Kong-1976 — Page 153

Labour

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4. In the field of labour standards the Colonial Government fully

accepts the need for improvements though it argues the importance of proceeding gradually, both because of the mass of legislation involved and in order to allow industry to adjust without losing its competitive edge. In this context, a recent survey by the Hong Kong Labour Department supports the view that Hong Kong workers

enjoy the highest disposable incomes in Asia after Japan, though the absence of accurate and detailed comparative statistics suggests that this should be regarded as only a tentative conclusion. Accepting this, however, there are still grounds for criticism

even by comparison with some of Hong Kong's Asian competitors:

(a) the provision of 4 rest days a month to manual workers

and not, as required by the relevant International

Labour Convention, one rest day per week;

5.

(b)

(c)

(a)

(e)

(f)

(g)

(h)

poor provision for statutory holidays with pay; 6

as

compared with 11 in Singapore, 13 in Taiwan and 12 in Indonesia;

no provision for paid annual leave which exists in all the countries mentioned in (b) above;

Who

the lack of comprehensive prohibition of employment for those under 14 years of age (at are, however, prohibited from working in industrial undertakings);

some deficiencies in the coverage of industrial safety

regulations;

inadequate provision for paid sick leave and redundancy payments in industry;

the absence of statutory minimum wages for low paid

occupations;

the absence of limitations on the hours of work of adult

males; and of statutory provision for overtime rates.

Even Hong Kong's critics acknowledge the valuable role played by the Government's Labour Department in the improvement of working conditions in recent years; but they remain convinced that more could be done without jeopardising Hong Kong's ability to compete on world markets. The Hong Kong Government's plans (see Annex D,

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