TNAG-0644-FCO40-792-Employment-of-children-in-Hong-Kong-1977 — Page 96

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16.

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HKD.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

London SW1A 2AH

SWIA

2 1 MAR 1077

16

A

Edmund Dell has passed to me the letter that your

Secretary wrote to his office on 1 March about the resolution

adopted by your constituency Labour Party asking that the

import of toys produced by child labour in Hong Kong should be

banned. You may be interested to know that the Stockton and

Thornaby Trades Council sent the Prime Minister and Tony

Crosland copies of a similar resolution last month.

As you indicate, the resolution of the constituency Labour

Party like that of the Stockton and Thornaby Trades Council

was probably prompted by the Granada TV "World in Action"

programme on child labour in Hong Kong which was televised on

13 December. I am advised by those who saw the programme that

it produced only limited evidence of child labour in industrial

establishments in Hong Kong, although there were a number of

scenes of young children employed in non-industrial establishments,

eg restaurants, and even more of children doing "out-work" in

their homes. At present there is no limit on the age of

children who may be employed in non-industrial establishments

but no child under the age of 14 may be employed in an industrial

establishment.

The Rt. Hon. William Rodgers MP.

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