ENG-1976 — Page 71

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KKO

Employment

THERE were 26 items of legislation passed during the year to improve the safety, health, welfare and training of workers and their conditions of employment. Labour legislation has frequently been revised over the past 10 years, with 132 items con- cerning the Labour Department having been passed in that time. More improvements are planned for the next five years, including amendments to the Employment Ordin- ance to provide for one week's paid annual leave from 1978 and also improvements in severance pay and sickness benefits in 1977.

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The 1976 legislation included safety regulations for work in compressed air, the spraying of flammable liquids, the installation and operation of goods lifts, the guard- ing of machinery and the manufacture of dry-batteries. An amendment was also made to the Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance in support of a new policy on lease enforcement.

The Apprenticeship Ordinance was enacted to regulate and improve apprentice- ship in designated trades or occupations. Details of apprenticeship contracts and related matters are provided for in the Apprenticeship Regulations.

The Factories and Industrial Undertakings Regulations were amended to reduce overtime for young people by stages.

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During the year amendments were also made to the Employment Ordinance to increase the number of statutory holidays to 10 a year and to require employers to give workers one rest day a week from January 1977.

Wages of industrial workers increased appreciably during 1976 as Hong Kong recovered from the 1974-5 world-wide recession. By September average daily wages (excluding fringe benefits) had increased by 25 per cent compared with the base period of July 1973 to June 1974. Over the same time, the cost of living index went up by 12 per cent. The index of real average daily wages was 112 compared with the base index of 100.

In December 1976 a total of 773,746 workers were employed in 36,303 establish- ments in the manufacturing sector. Some 381,825-the largest section of the labour force-were engaged in weaving, spinning, knitting, and the manufacture of garments and made-up textile goods. The plastics industry and the electrical industry were the next two largest employers. Details of the distribution of manufacturing establish- ments and of people engaged in them are given in Appendices 13 and 14.

The bulk of the industrial population is concentrated in the urban areas of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, and New Kowloon, but there is increasing industrial develop- ment in the New Territories, particularly in the new towns of Tsuen Wan and Kwai