From The Minister of State
The Rt Hon The Lord Goronwy-Roberts
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
London SW1A 2AH
2 February 1977
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As you know, your letter of 10 January to Edmund Dell enclosing one from your constituent, Mr P Stangoe of 5 Drumshangie Street, Airdrie, about conditions of child labour in Hong Kong was passed to us for reply.
You may have noticed that Bob Parry put down a number of Questions on this subject just before the Christmas Recess. His interest in the employment of young persons in Hong Kong is mentioned in your constituent's letter. I enclose copies of the extracts from Hansard which Mr Stangoe might like to see. I should draw particular attention to the fact that the employment of children under the age of 14 in industrial establishments in Hong Kong is illegal and that seventy-one Labour Inspectors were engaged in 1975-76 in making regular visits to factories to ensure that the law is enforced.
There has been steady progress in recent years in Hong Kong in improving the terms and conditions of employment, particularly of young persons. To give a few examples: an Apprenticeship Ordinance was brought into force last year to ensure that apprentices are properly trained and fairly treated, the number of statutory public holidays a year has been increased from 6 to 10 as from 1 January this year, and the number of compulsory rest days has been increased from 4 a month to one a week, again with effect from the beginning of this year, in order to ensure that every worker has at least one day off a week. At the same time, further safety regulations have been introduced with regard to the guarding and operation of machinery, the operation of goods lifts, the spraying of flammable liquids and work in compressed air. Moreover, the
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