TNAG-0572-FCO40-705-Monitoring-of-progress-made-on-planning-paper-on-Hong-Kong-1976 — Page 23

IMMEDIATE

CYPHER/CAT A

GRPS 240

FM F C O 011222Z

CONFIDENTIAL.

CONFIDENTIAL

32

DESKBY 020030Z

стил в нків ов/58/4

TO IMMEDIATE HONG KONG TELNO 805 OF 1 OCTOBER.

PERSONAL FOR GOVERNOR FROM LORD GORONWY-ROBERTS.

1.

1

YOUR TELNO 978 LEGCO SPEECH: LABOUR LEGISLATION.

I UNDERSTAND THE REASONS FOR YOUR RE-DRAFT OF PARAGRAPH 7 IN

YOUR ORIGINAL DRAFT, BUT I AM A LITTLE ANXIOUS ABOUT THE EXACT WAY IN WHICH IT HAS COME OUT. IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO US IF YOU COULD

ACCEPT SOMETHING ON THE FOLLOWING LINES:

QUOTE IN EFFECT THIS MEANS THAT OUR LABOUR LEGISLATION SHOULD

BE AT LEAST EQUAL TO THAT IN COMPARABLE ASIAN COUNTRIES. I DO NOT

BELIEVE THAT HON MEMBERS WOULD BELIEVE IT RIGHT THAT WE SHOULD AIM AT

PROVIDING OUR WORKERS WITH LESS PROTECTION THAN OUR NEIGHBOURS

GIVE TO THEIRS, IT IS TRUE THAT OUR WORKERS' INCOMES ARE HIGHER THAN

OUR COMPETITORS' AND THAT THEIR STANDARD OF LIVING AS A WHOLE

COMPARES WELL. BUT WE CERTAINLY COULD NOT DEFEND A LOWER STANDARD

INTERNATIONALLY OR AGAINST THE BACKGROUND OF THE SORT OF SOCIETY WE ARE TRYING TO BUILD. THIS IS A FIELD IN WHICH WE HAVE MADE

SUBSTANTIAL PROGRESS IN THE LAST SIX OR SEVEN YEARS BUT WE HAVE TO

GO FARTHER STILL BEFORE WE REACH THE STANDARD WE HAVE SET.

NEVERTHELESS, I AM SURE ..... UNQUOTE

20 I HAVE NO OBJECTION TO YOUR USING THE PASSAGE QUOTE THAT OUR

WORKERS' INCOMES ARE HIGHER..... COMPARES WELL UNQUOTE, PROVIDED THAT YOU ARE ENTIRELY CONFIDENT THAT THE RELIABILITY OF THE WAGE

STATISTICS ON WHICH YOU HAVE MADE A COMPARISON BETWEEN HONG KONG

AND COMPETITOR COUNTRIES WILL STAND UP TO SCRUTINY, WHICH IT IS

BOUND TO RECEIVE.

CROSLAND

FILES

HKD (3)

MR STANLEY

FED

MR HAYES

OLA

ECONOMISTS D

PS

PS/LORD GORONWY-ROBERTS

MR LARMOUR

MR CORTAZZI

MR MALE

CONFIDENTIAL