TNAG-0572-FCO40-705-Monitoring-of-progress-made-on-planning-paper-on-Hong-Kong-1976 — Page 103

Mr Milton

Mr Stewart

نومی

COVERING CONFIDENTIAL

Drafton

NICK 212/545 Reference NICK 2

1. I attach a draft Confidential Note for the TUC agreed by Mr Janvrin and myself.

2.

I am not too happy about issuing this for four reasons:

(a) The targets we set out in paragraph 3 were drawn from the Planning Paper but the Governor could well alter them by making them more precise and, indeed, more extensive;

(b) I have doubts abat the TUC being able to protect the confidence of the Paper and the Governor, during his meetings in London in July,constantly referred to the need to maintain confidence;

(c) We are now only four weeks from the opening of LegCo when next year's legislative programme will be announced in detail;

(a) On the question of labour legislation, the Governor told Lord Goronwy-Roberts that he would supplement a public announcement in general terms to LegCo with a document giving more precise targets in the field of labour legislation which could be used by Ministers in private exchange with, for example, the TUC. He gain stressed the need to respect confidence. Mr Lipsey agreed that to mention such matters as minimum wages would prejudice the legislative programme for 1976-77 and said that he himself would attempt a formula to meet the need for a more specific reference to minimum wages in a confidential document to be shown to the TUC.

6 September 1976

Pouffer

T Duffy

Hong Kong Department

COVERING CONFIDENTIAL

S