TNAG-1520-FCO40-2081-Employment-in-Hong-Kong-1986 — Page 69

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INTRODUCTION

studies have prepared the way. The Office's 1944 Report, Social Policy in Dependent Territories1, and Chapter I of the 1945 Report prepared for the Paris Conference surveyed the problems under consideration and gave illustrative examples of them. In the preparation of these Reports and in the Office's gezeral studies in anticipation of the Philadelphia and Paris discussions, the relevant laws of the majority of the dependent territories were examined. The Office's 1945 Report contains replies from the Governments on the matters under consideration at that stage. Thirdly, the Office has the indications provided by the decisions of the Conference in Recommendation form. It is therefore possible to limit the present Report to an analysis of the Philadelphia and Paris Recommenda- tions in the light of the most important laws of dependent ter- ritories.

The Standing Orders of the Conference next require the Office to submit the preliminary Report to the Conference "together with a further Report drawn up on the basis of the replies from the Governments indicating the principal questions which require consideration by the Conference". The nature and timing of the second Report will depend on the nature and date of the Govern- ments' replies. If in the interval indications are received on the action taken in virtue of the Philadelphia Recommendation, account of these will of course be taken in the second Report. If. after having considered these Reports. the Conference decides that a Convention or Conventions might appropriately be considered. it will take the necessary steps to include the question in the agenda of the succeeding general session of the Conference, which will presumably be held in 1947. The Once will then prepare draft texts for the consideration of the Governments in the light of the discussion which has taken place. These texts will be sent to Governments for their comments and after these have been received a final Report will be prepared for Conference consideratica.

Thus by 1947 the Governments will have been twice consulted, the Conference will have held its first discussion and it may be hoped that the ground will have been adequately prepared for a final decision on the adoption of a Convention or Conventions. In view of the importance which any international labour Conven- tion on this subject might prove to have in the future, in view of the wide range of territories and conditions to be considered, the period of roughly two years which will be taken in its preparation,

1I.L.O.: Social Policy in Dependent Territories, Studies and Reports, Series B, No. 38 (Montreal, 1944).

* International Labour Conference, 27th Session, Report V: Minimum Standards of Social Policy in Dependent Territories (Supplement≈y Provisions) (Montreal, 1945).