TNAG-1729-FCO40-2442-Minutes-and-Hansards-of-the-Legislative-Council-of-Hong-Kong-1988 — Page 124

25.

reasons

It is also good to remind ourselves that one of the

the flexibility and

for our thriving economy is

of

Our

work

force;

in

adaptability

particular,

their

willingness to accept cuts in take-home pay when times are This enables us to recover from recession much faster

Our present situation of full

bad.

than some of our competitors.

employment and hence, labour shortage, has made wages rise

and

SO

enabled

workers Our

to

in share

our

general

prosperity.

76.

this is no comfort

to

া

3.4.

5.c

However, I appreciate that employers, desperate for workers, and that

some would like to

see us take radical measures, such as the import of labour.

The Government's views have been fully explained in this

Council, most recently by the acting Secretary for Trade and

Industry on 14 October 1987, in reply to a question from Mr

I do not

for me Sohmen.

think it is necessary for to repeat

what Mr. Yeung said it. Mr, Sohmen himself, though critical of the Government's view, gave a very fair summary of it in his own speech.

that occasion or on

even

to

summar

iže

As

he said, we believe that the best solution is for employers

to attract

more people into

work by

S

by improving pay

and

working conditions and to economize on labour by investing

in labour saving equipment and improving productivity.