ENG-1957 — Page 70

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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT

redundant in the locomotive shops. The Kowloon-Canton Railway Workers' Union took up the matter, under pressure from workers in the Kowloon-Canton Railway, but after a number of meetings in which the position was explained to them by the General Manager of the Kowloon-Canton Railway and the Labour Department, the inevitability of retrenchment was accepted. Forty-nine workers were affect- ed. Of this number, four were transferred to other posts in the Railway and eight to posts in other Government depart- ments; 25 left Government service with normal retirement benefits and three months' pay in lieu of notice, and the remainder resigned or left the service for other reasons.

The Taikoo Sugar Refining Company Ltd. In June three representatives of the Taikoo Sugar Refining Company Ltd. Chinese Workers' Union visited the Labour Department to inquire about certain demands made to the company by the union. The first demand concerned medical treatment at the Taikoo Dockyard clinic, about 20 minutes walking distance from the Refinery. Arrangements for treatment of Refinery workers in the Dockyard clinic had proved unsatisfactory to both workers and the management of the Refinery. The management agreed to provide a new clinic at the Refinery and this was nearing completion at the end of the year. Other demands made by, the workers' representatives con- cerned medical treatment for workers' families, the ability of a worker to carry out his job satisfactorily, and the provision of details on pay packets to show workers how much money they should receive. These complaints were without foundation and were quickly disposed of.

The union appeared to be trying to expand its influence by manufacturing grievances. It continued to raise a number of issues with the management, including those mentioned above, and it also attempted to obtain the re-instatement of two members of its committee, of whom one had been dis- missed for neglect of duty and the other had been discharged with one month's wages in lieu of notice. The management