ENG-1956 — Page 57

40

HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT

During the year wages of workers in building construction and engineering also rose, mainly because of increasing demand for labour as a result of the continuing building boom, the airport extension and other major construction projects. The increasing number of new factories requiring labour was another factor in preventing any decline in wages. The average wage range for daily-rated workers was:

skilled workmen

semi-skilled workmen

unskilled workmen

$7.00 to $12.00 a day

$5.00 to $ 8.00

$3.00 to $ 6.00

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Except in the category of skilled workmen, these rates were higher than those for the previous year, the main reason being that with the introduction of modern machinery many operators carried greater responsibility and achieved higher output. Some highly skilled workers received from $15.00 to $18.00 a day. In large sections of industry piece-rates are common, both men and women receiving the same rates. Pay for learners in trades where a short period of in-plant training is necessary is frequently below the unskilled rates quoted above.

Overtime rates for manual workers vary between time-and- a-quarter and double-time, but time-and-a-half is the most usual. A bonus of one month's wages is paid at Chinese New Year in many concerns.

Some firms provide free food and accommodation for their regular employees. Other concerns operate canteens for all their workers, at which food and articles of common con- sumption are supplied at subsidized rates, thus giving their staff partial protection against rises in the cost of living. The Government, most European concerns, and some Chinese employers whose businesses are run on Western lines pay instead a basic wage, together with a variable cost of living allowance to compensate for price fluctuations. The allow- ances paid are based on the Retail Price Index, compiled