ENG-1953 — Page 31

HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT, 1953

In the field of labour and social services, the most important development was the enactment of the Workmen's Compen- sation Ordinance in September. This complicated piece of legislation had taken many months to prepare, and though it is in the nature of a basic charter for the manual worker, it did not have the revolutionary effect that might have been expected. The reason for this was that most of the larger and more conscientious employers had for some time been working to scales of compensation based on those which were actually incorporated in the new law. Its effect, therefore, was to codify and to make obligatory, practices which were generally understood and accepted rather than to confer wholesale new benefits. Nevertheless, the Ordinance was widely welcomed and was recognized as an important step forward in the sphere of social legislation.

At the end of the year, the Governor's Secretariat moved from the now crumbling classical porticos of its 19th Century home to temporary quarters in the first section of the new Government Offices; a granite-faced building of modern design flanking St. John's Cathedral compound and dominating the early slopes of Garden Road which is the main artery for traffic up the Peak. This new, though temporary, accommoda- tion provided an opportunity for reforms in the direction of working conditions and staff welfare which had long been contemplated. The whole of the building is air-conditioned, a consideration which increases efficiency to a like degree with comfort. The registries and general offices are more efficiently planned, lighter, and less congested. There are rest and recreation rooms for the staff and canteens which serve both European and Chinese-style meals at fair prices. These amenities are controlled by representatives of the staff them- selves. They are experiments which it is hoped will be confirmed and developed in other departments of Government and which will in time set an advanced standard of staff welfare and staff relationships.

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