Factory Regulation and Inspection

The Protector of Labour was appointed by the Governor to monitor the implementation of the industrial ordinances and regulations. Between 1922 and 1937, the Secretary for Chinese Affairs was appointed as the Protector and the Inspectors worked under the Secretariat for Chinese Affairs. In 1938, the power of the Protector was vested in the Chairman of the Urban Council, and after World War II, it was transferred to the Commissioner of Labour. Before 1940, the Inspectors and Assistant Inspectors were western men, with the exception of a western woman who was appointed Inspector of Juvenile Labour in 1923 for about a year. The first male Chinese Assistant Inspector was appointed in 1940 and the earliest female Chinese Assistant Inspectors were appointed in 1941.