ENG-1983 — Page 84

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Employment

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100

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HONG KONG has a resourceful and energetic workforce of 2 461 900 – comprising 1 564 100 men and 897 800 women - as estimated from findings of the July - September 1983 General Household Survey. They are engaged in: agriculture and fishing, mining and quarrying, 30 600; manufacturing, 901 100; electricity, gas and water, 13 600; construction, 203 600; wholesale and retail trade, restaurants and hotels, 524 800; transport, storage and commu- nications, 193 900; financing, insurance, real estate and business services, 134 800; commu- nity and personal services, 45 400; and unclassifiable activities, 100.

An establishment survey of Employment, Vacancies and Payroll in the manufacturing sector, held in September 1983, recorded 865 073 people engaged in 46 817 establishments. It covered working proprietors and partners, employees receiving pay, and unpaid family workers affiliated to business organisations, but excluded the self-employed, out-workers, and other unpaid workers who were included in the household-type survey. Some 368 188 people – the largest portion of the manufacturing workforce - were engaged in the textile

- and wearing apparel industries. The electrical industry and the plastics industry were the next two largest employers. Details of the distribution of manufacturing establishments, and of the number of people engaged in them, are given at Appendices 13 and 14.-

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The bulk of the manufacturing workforce is concentrated in the urban areas of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. However, industrial development in the New Territories is increasing and more than 25 per cent of the manufacturing workforce now works there.

Labour Legislation

During 1983, 15 items of labour legislation were enacted to provide for higher standards in the safety, health and welfare of workers. This brings the total number of items of labour legislation enacted in the past 10 years to 155.

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The Employment Ordinance was amended in 1983 to raise the wage ceiling for non- manual employees from $7,500 to $8,500 and to increase paid sick leave.

The Employees' Compensation Ordinance and the Pneumoconiosis (Compensation) Ordinance were amended to raise the levels of compensation. The list of prescribed occupational diseases in the Second Schedule of the Employees' Compensation Ordinance was expanded. Various minor amendments were also made in the Employees' Compensation Regulations and the Pneumoconiosis (Compensation) (Assessment of Levy) Regulations.

The Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance was amended to make provisions for the enforcing authority to carry out an enquiry into an accident and to simplify the registration procedure for factories. The Construction Sites (Safety) Regulations were amended to provide, in more detail, for safe places of work on construction sites.

As a dependent territory of the United Kingdom, Hong Kong is not a member of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and is not called upon to ratify any International