TNAG-0873-FCO40-1083-Employment-of-children-in-Hong-Kong-1979 — Page 4

B

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The second fee element that is not covered by the fee remission scheme is tong fai), which is charged by all aided secondary schools at rates varying between $60-$220 per annum. Tong fai income is used to meet expenditure on items not covered by the capitation grant - such as prices for speech days, the payment of salaries that are not approved for subsidy, the purchase of additional furniture and equipment and for the repayment of building loans.

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Attached to this memorandum at Annex B is a table setting out for Honourable Members' information, the estimated cost of a number of options, ranging from the provision of junior secondary education entirely free at one extreme, to some specific ameliorative measures, including that proposed in this memorandum at the other.

Prohibitions on Employment

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Under regulation 4 of the Factories and Industrial Under- takings Regulations (Chapter 59, subsidiary legislation), the employ- ment of children under 14 in industrial undertakings is prohibited. It is proposed to extend the prohibition on the employment of children so as to include 14 year olds, and also to non-industrial employment, but only so far as is necessary to assist the enforcement of school attendance by children of compulsory school age.

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There are estimated to be some 12,000 14 year olds employed in industrial and non-industrial undertakings, mainly in textiles and certain other manufacturing industries, wholesale and retail trades, hotels and household activities. There are estimated also to be 700-1, 100 children aged 12 and 13 years in employment. These figures do not include outworkers and certain other categories. It is not proposed that children should be debarred from all types of employment, (this is not the position in Britain). It is the intention that children should still be allowed to be employed as outworkers and in certain other part-time work, provided that this does not interfere with their attendance at school. They would also be permitted to take up full-time employment, except in factories, during the school holidays. It is considered that the economic consequences of the new prohibitions on employment would be acceptable.

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To exercise adequate enforcement in the circumstances. described above, an increase in the establishment of the Labour In- spectorate would be required. A preliminary estimate is that the present establishment of 130 would need to be raised to 400 over the next two years.

CONFIDENTIAL