Social_Welfare_Annual_Report_1956-1957 — Page 32

CHAPTER XIII — INDUSTRIAL AND SEAMEN'S WELFARE

125. Industrial Welfare is primarily the concern of the Labour Department, and the Social Welfare Office does not to any great extent take part in this work. For information about industrial welfare the reports of the Commissioner of Labour should be consulted.

126. As in previous years the District Courts referred a number of cases of fatal accidents in industry to the Social Welfare Office for inquiries into the circumstances of the dependents and for advice on whether compensation should be paid in a lump sum or by instalments. Eighty-six such cases were handled during the year. Where the death of the bread- winner left a family in immediate want, help was given in obtaining hawkers' licences, medical attention, clothing, food, and so on. This Office also assisted in twenty-four applications for lump sum payments or revision of monthly instalments.

127. An increasing number of industrial managements appreciate the importance of welfare facilities for their workers, and many have progressed beyond the minimum standards required by the Labour Department. In addition to dining and rest rooms, for which provision must be made in plans for new factory buildings, industrialists, like many business firms, provide clinics, at which doctors attend periodi- cally each week to treat occupational and general diseases of the workers concerned. At some clinics, the families of workers also receive treatment. At some industrial undertakings, can- teens, non-profit making co-operative stores, barber shops, laundries, reading rooms and schoolrooms are also provided. Some employers arrange launch picnics for their workers in the summer and walks in the country in the winter. Welfare facilities sometimes include cinema shows, table tennis, Can- tonese opera, libraries, football and basketball games, and in a few instances, even swimming pools. Several voluntary organizations also cater for the welfare of industrial workers by providing hostels and playgrounds. The Salvation Army's Thomson Memorial Boys' Hostel houses 56 apprentices, and the Y.W.C.A. runs two hostels for factory girls.

128. Welfare of visiting seamen is in the hands of a number of voluntary organizations co-ordinated by the Port Welfare Committee, which alone is empowered to raise and allocate

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