ENG-1962 — Page 70

EMPLOYMENT

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generally more highly paid than their female counterparts. Apprentices receive progressively increasing rates of pay through- out a training period varying between two and five years, rising to a maximum which approximates that of an unskilled worker. The period under review has been one of industrial peace. Wages remained fairly stable throughout the year except in the building industry where, due to an unusual increase in con- struction, wages tended to rise. Unskilled workers' wages in this industry reached a level of about $10 a day. The crews of a number of motor boats (walla wallas) received wage increases of approximately 20 per cent, while workers engaged in certain branches of the rattan industry negotiated an increase in pay of about 22 per cent. Normal wages for daily-rated workers were: Skilled $8 to $21; semi-skilled $7 to $10; unskilled $3 to $8. Many employers provide their workers with free accommodation, sub- sidized meals or food allowances, good attendance bonuses, and paid rest-days. Many employees also receive a Chinese New Year bonus of one month's pay.

Working hours. There are no legal restrictions on the hours of work for men. Most of those in industry work 10 hours a day or less, while civil servants and those employed in concerns operating on Western lines work eight hours. Legislation made under the Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance, 1955, provides for maximum daily hours, limited overtime, weekly rest-days and rest periods for women and young persons.

Young persons between the ages of 14 and 16 may work only eight hours, with a break of one hour after five hours' continuous work. Children under the age of 14 are prohibited from working in industry and no woman or young person is allowed to work at night or underground. Restrictions on the hours of work for women, introduced on 1st January 1959, have increasingly affected the working hours of men employed in the same concerns. By the end of 1962, 142 cotton spinning, cotton weaving, and silk spinning mills had introduced a system of three eight-hour daily shifts. It was estimated that by the end of 1962 27,279 men and 19,279 women were working eight hours a day. A rest period of one hour a day is customary throughout industry, but when working hours exceed eight a day the rest period may be