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Liu Kwai Ying
Liu Kwai Ying
Former Forewoman, Hing Wah Battery Factory
Sex: Female Birthyear: 1934 Age at Interview: 79 Education: Unknown Occupation: Factory Worker Theme: Industry, Community Liu Kwai Ying went to work every morning at 7am. Lunch time started at 12pm and the workers had one hour of break. She would go to different places to eat. In those days, there were a lot of huts that provided lunch mainly on Ha Heung Road. The majority of female workers took lunch at these places. Prices varied from three to five dollars, covering both rice and dishes. After lunch, work continued until around 6pm. Occasionally, when deadlines had to be met, the workers would have to work overtime. Overtime work lasted around one to two hours. Liu Kwai Ying had gone to work in the morning as early as 5am. If female workers had to return to factory early in the morning, the factory would provide each person two pieces of bread as breakfast at 7am.
Title A typical day of a female worker in Hing Wah Battery Date 09/05/2013 Subject Industry Duration 2m36s Language Cantonese Material Type Audio Collection Oral History Archives Repository Hong Kong Memory Project Note to Copyright Permission for use is given by Liu Kwai Ying Accession No. TKW-LKY-HLT-001 Liu Kwai Ying recalled that she became addicted to mah-jong soon after learning how to play it, and therefore often would only buy a sandwich at lunchtime and then go the Hoi Shum Temple to play mah-jong before returning to work at the factory. At that time, female workers generally gathered in groups of four people to hire mah-jong tables at a kiosk at Hoi Shum Temple. In the beginning, the kiosk only provided drinks and snacks, but later mah-jong tables were available there for the workers’ entertainment. Rental for each table was around two to three dollars, so on average that would be one dollar per person. Sometime the kiosk even included lunch and dinner as part of the mah-jong game. A lot of boat people lived on the Hoi Shum Island in temporary sheds.
Title Playing mahjong in Hoi Shum Temple during factory lunchtime Date 09/05/2013 Subject Community Duration 2m40s Language Cantonese Material Type Audio Collection Oral History Archives Repository Hong Kong Memory Project Note to Copyright Permission for use is given by Liu Kwai Ying Accession No. TKW-LKY-HLT-002 Liu Kwai Ying’s mother and many relatives had worked in Hing Wah Battery Factory. She also got acquainted with her spouse there. Before her husband became a technician at Hing Wah, he once worked in a pharmacy. Liu Kwai Ying's mother also worked in the pharmacy, so it created an opportunity for Liu and her husband to meet. They went to travel together and watched films after work at Kwong Chee Theatre in Yau Ma Tei. Since Hing Wah was still located in Mong Kok, they often walked together from Mong Kok to Yau Ma Tei for film. Sometimes, they also walked from Mong Kok to Lai Chi Kok Amusement Park to play.
Title Meeting her future husband who worked in the same factory Date 09/05/2013 Subject Industry Duration 2m1s Language Cantonese Material Type Audio Collection Oral History Archives Repository Hong Kong Memory Project Note to Copyright Permission for use is given by Liu Kwai Ying Accession No. TKW-LKY-HLT-003 In the middle to later part of her career at Hing Wah, Liu Kwai Ying was promoted to rank of a forewoman. The position required her to assign workers to different posts, to supervise worker and to train newcomers. If a worker left for the washroom, she needed to temporarily take up the worker’s work. If the department became understaffed, she had to inform her supervisor. In a real sense, Liu was a “generalist worker” who had to learn every procedure in production. After the various departments were equipped with machines, the factory seldom hired newcomers.
Title Duties after being promoted to a forewoman Date 09/05/2013 Subject Industry Duration 2m6s Language Cantonese Material Type Audio Collection Oral History Archives Repository Hong Kong Memory Project Note to Copyright Permission for use is given by Liu Kwai Ying Accession No. TKW-LKY-HLT-004 Both Liu Kwai Ying and the boss of Hing Wah came from Shunde, although their home villages were not the same. She said the boss would not only deliberately hire Shunde people. The background of the workers did not matter. However, a lot of people got their jobs through relatives’ referral. For examples, Liu Kwai Ying had once introduced her own daughter into the factory for summer work. Summer workers in those years were hired through interpersonal networks. Child labours were not be employed by the boss; those who got into the factory were teenagers or young people whose stature was big enough.
Title Many workers got their jobs through relatives’ referral Date 09/05/2013 Subject Industry Duration 2m20s Language Cantonese Material Type Audio Collection Oral History Archives Repository Hong Kong Memory Project Note to Copyright Permission for use is given by Liu Kwai Ying Accession No. TKW-LKY-HLT-005