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27.
Mr Stephen Cheong and Mr Ho Sai-chu referred to
the thorny question of assessing the cumulative cost to
manufacturers of having to accept the requirements of new
labour, employment and environmental protection legislation.
and suggested that this be taken up seriously. I am sure
that they appreciate the difficulty of predicting what impact
on a given industry, the manufacturing sector or the economy
as a whole a particular place of legislation may have.
They may also recall that an attempt was made in 1983 to
the cumulative cost of labour legislation in the
period 1977 to 1983 and that this indicated an order of
cost that was sustainable.
However, I have
again.consulted
the Secretary for Economic Services who agrees that the
difficult exercise of making a revised assessment should
be undertaken, though we must caution that such an assessment
is fraught with severe data limitations and we are none
too sure that the results could be put to meaningful use.
28.
Finally, I aplogise to Members for having spoken
at this length but this subject is of such importance to
our economy, our people as well as our future
our future that I feel
obliged to respond to my colleagues' efforts with my own
endeavour. May I conclude with the assurance that the views
expressed by Members today will be examined in detail by
the administration and taken into account in the continuing
review of our services to industry.
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.