ENG-1965 — Page 47

EMPLOYMENT

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which 305 involved large wage claims. This compared with 222 in the previous year. There were a further 1,762 minor disputes compared with 1,639 in the previous year. Altogether there were seven strikes and one lockout, and the number of man-days lost in all disputes was 62,249 which represents a slight increase over 1964. The Registry of Trade Unions administers the Trade Union Registration Ordinance 1961, which came into operation on 1st April 1962, replacing earlier legislation. Matters relating to voluntary arbitration are covered by the Trade Disputes Ordinance. The Registrar deals with applications for registration by new trade unions and trade union federations, as well as any alterations to rules, changes of name, amalgamations or dissolutions of unions. The Registrar also has power to cancel the registration of a union in certain circumstances.

The 309 unions on the register at the end of 1965 consisted of 239 workers' unions with a total declared membership of 150,246, 54 organizations of merchants or employers with a declared member- ship of 6,471 and 16 mixed organizations with a total declared membership of 9,371.

LEGISLATION

The Contracts for Overseas Employment Ordinance No 8 of 1965, which was passed by the Legislative Council on 10th February 1965, seeks to give legislative effect to Hong Kong's obligations under certain International Labour Conventions concerning the recruitment of indigenous workers. It applies to contracts of em- ployment of manual workers (including personal and domestic servants) which, although entered into in Hong Kong, are to be performed, wholly or in part, outside the Colony. Subject to certain exceptions, all such contracts are required to be in writing and attested by the Commissioner of Labour.

The Employers and Servants (Amendment) Ordinance 1965 which came into effect on 12th March 1965, is designed to give legislative effect to Hong Kong's obligations under the Contracts of Employ- ment (Indigenous Workers) Convention by prohibiting contracts of service for a period of six months or more in the case of workers whose wages do not exceed $700 a month. The Employment of Young Persons and Children at Sea Ordinance, Chapter 58 (originally No 13 of 1932) was amended to bring the law into compliance with