ENG-1971 — Page 93

EMPLOYMENT

55

A Consumer Price Index, intended as an indicator of the effects of price changes on household expenditure, continued to be published throughout the year. It varied from 126 to 137 (base of 100=period of September 1963 to August 1964). In December 1971, this index stood at 131 (see Appendix 23). A special index based on the ex- penditure of households spending less than $600 a month and known as the Modified Consumer Price Index is also published and used as the basis for monthly adjustment in the salaries of minor staff in government service. A proportion of the wages of all minor staff (Scale 1) in the public service are adjusted quarterly by reference to this index.

The Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance is the basis for the control of hours and conditions of work in industry. On December 1, 1967, amending legislation introduced a phased pro- gramme to reduce the maximum standard hours for women and young people aged 16 and 17 to eight a day and 48 a week by December 1, 1971. The final phase was implemented without dif- ficulty. In addition to establishing maximum daily hours, regulations limit overtime and provide for weekly rest days and rest periods for women and young people.

Young people aged 14 and 15 may work eight hours a day in industry with a break of one hour after five hours continuous work. Children under the age of 14 are prohibited from working in in- dustry, and no woman or young person is allowed to work at night or underground. Regulations under the Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance also provide for pre-employment medical examination of men employed underground or in tunnelling opera- tions and for the periodical medical examination of men under 21 years of age employed underground.

Because of a continuing shortage of labour, a few large factories engaged in cotton spinning were authorised in 1970 to employ women at night. This permission was restricted to concerns able to comply with stringent conditions. This experimental concession was reviewed in 1971 and subsequently extended for another year. It will be reviewed again in early 1972.

There are no legal restrictions on hours of work for men. Most men employed in industry work between eight and 10 hours a day. Government employees and those in concerns operating on western lines work eight hours. The restrictions on the hours of work for women, which were first introduced in January 1959, have resulted in a decrease in the number of hours worked by men working