TNAG-0786-FCO40-990-Policy-of-Government-of-Hong-Kong-on-labour-and-trade-union--1978 — Page 237

CONFIDENTIAL

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LABOUR CONDITIONS, INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS AND SOCIAL WELFARE IN HONG KONG A COMPARISON WITH SIX OTHER ASIAN COUNTRIES

1. Last autumn two officials of the Hong Kong Government visited Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Korea, Singapore and the Philippines, to discover how Hong Kong compares with her neighbours in terms of labour legislation and social policy. They met individual workers, trade unionists, employers and government officials in each country and produced a report which has been sent to us by the Secretary for Social Services. The report considers three main areas:-

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Labour Conditions

a. Minimum age: like Hong Kong all the countries visited prohibited child labour to some extent, the position in Hong Kong is similar, in particular, to that in Singapore.

b. Hours of work: Hong Kong, unlike the other six countries has no legal limit on the number of hours which may be worked, but women and children are legally protected by the limitation of the amount of overtime and shift work which they can do.

C. Holidays: Hong Kong has less days of statutory paid holiday than her neighbours, but in the Colony payment in lieu is not allowed. Maternity leave in Hong Kong is amongst the highest in the region.

d. Wages: although there is no minimum legal wage in Hong Kong, wages in manufacturing industries in the Colony are as high as anywhere in the region.

e.

Fringe benefits: Hong Kong is at the top of the scale in terms of annual bonuses, good attendance allowances, meal allowances and productivity bonuses.

f.

Enforcement of Labour Legislation: Only Hong Kong and Singapore have effective enforcement of their labour legislation.

Industrial Relations

There is little trade union activity in the region and in Thailand and the Philippines strikes are banned. Industrial relations in Hong Kong seem to be comparable to those of Singapore and Korea.

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