ENG-1977 — Page 67

4

Employment

LABOUR legislation has been expanded and improved significantly over the past 10 years with the passing of 137 laws. To further improve the safety and welfare of workers, and their conditions of employment, 13 items of legislation were enacted during 1977. Legislation was enacted to allow, from January 1, 1978, seven days' paid annual leave to all employees covered by the Employment Ordinance.

The Employment Ordinance also was amended to increase sickness allowance and severance pay. To provide further wage protection, a vicarious liability was imposed on principal contractors in the building and construction industry for outstanding wages to workers employed by sub-contractors.

The Factories and Industrial Undertakings Regulations were amended to double the penalty for employing child labour. Two sets of safety regulations were introduced during the year, one to control the use of cartridge-operated fixing tools and the other to protect workers' eyes.

Priority for workmen's compensation and wages claims in lieu of notice to rank equal with wages and severance pay over secured debts in the winding-up or bank- ruptcy of a company was provided by amendments to the Companies Ordinance, the Bankruptcy Ordinance and the Workmen's Compensation Ordinance. -

The Workmen's Compensation Ordinance was amended to require employers to pay the medical expenses of workers injured on the job.

Provisions of the Trade Unions Ordinance covering office holders also were sim- plified.

Industrial workers' wages continued to increase during 1977 following the recovery from the 1974-5 worldwide recession. By September, average daily wages - excluding fringe benefits - had increased by 38 per cent on the base period of July, 1973, to June, 1974. During the same time, the cost-of-living index went up by 18 per cent. The index of real average daily wages was 117, compared with the base index of 100 for the July, 1973, to June, 1974, period.

In December, 1977, a total of 755,108 people were engaged in 37,568 establishments in the manufacturing sector. Some 353,734 - the largest section of the labour force were engaged in weaving, spinning, knitting, and manufacturing garments and made-up textile goods. The electrical industry and the plastics industry were the next two largest employers. Details of the distribution of manufacturing establishments, 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 industrial development in the New