ENG-1957 — Page 79

OCCUPATIONS, WAGES AND LABOUR ORGANIZATION 63

of personnel matters. Some 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.

Under the housing scheme which was started some years ago, Hongkong Tramways Ltd. erected 110 new flats for its employees in 1957 and brought the scheme to completion. The total number of flats provided amounts to 265, which house a total of about 1,800 persons. Space has been provided for recreation and in addition there are swings, a covered playground for children, a basketball court, an assembly room for meetings, a room for meetings of the tenants' Management Committee, and a shop. The housing scheme of The 'Star' Ferry Co., Ltd. provided quarters for 250 of the Company's employees and the Hongkong & Yaumati Ferry Co., Ltd. acquired a plot of land on which to erect quarters for its workers. Early in the year the housing scheme of the China Motor Bus Co., Ltd. was completed, consisting of 132 flats and a large welfare centre.

The Hong Kong Telephone Co., Ltd. provided its employees with a canteen and medical clinic in the Com- pany's new 10-storey building near the Western Market. In the same building, 54''flats for married workers and accommodation for 20 single men in dormitories were pro- vided. The welfare centre of The Kowloon Motor Bus Co., (1933) Ltd. was completed but had not been opened by the end of the year. This will provide a dining-room, recreation rooms, and a clinic and dispensary with a doctor and nurses in attendance.

During the year copies of a questionnaire prepared by the Labour Department, seeking information on welfare facili- ties, were sent to member firms of the Employers' Federation of Hong Kong and the Chinese Manufacturers' Association, as well as to a number of other companies. Returns received