Tang Yin-ngor, chief executive of the Confederation of Trade Unions, the city's second-largest union representing more than 160,000 workers, says some of those workers turned to service industries, such as restaurants, when Hong Kong was at its economic peak in the 1980s and early 1990s.

But many lost their jobs after the economic downturn in 1997 and despite being in their 60s or 70s were still having to hunt for low-paid, unskilled jobs.

'It is very sad to see those elderly people anxious to find jobs as building watchmen or domestic helpers. However, it is not easy for even young and middle-aged people to find jobs nowadays, not to mention someone in their old age,' Ms Tang says.

She says some workers were forced to claim welfare handouts after they became jobless and their families were unable to support them.

Of 290,000 Comprehensive Social Security Assistance cases recorded at the end of June, half were old age recipients on a meagre $2,400 a month.

Historian Ho Pui-yin, of the Chinese University, says most blue-collar workers did not enjoy post-retirement protection before the Mandatory Provident Fund scheme was introduced in December 2000.

'Most sectors did not have a pension scheme or paid leave in those days,' she says. 'Blue collar workers were paid by piece rate or attendance record. So many workers worked seven days a week without rest when they were young.

'However, those toilers did not have much savings because many of them had to support their families in Hong Kong or back on the mainland. Families were usually big in the 1950s and 1960s with seven or eight children. So it was difficult for those workers to keep savings for themselves.'

Lee Po-chun, 78, had to work as a cleaner until she was 70 mainly because unskilled workers like her were not covered by any employment protection.

In the 1950s, Mrs Lee made plastic flowers and sewed beads at her home in Lockhart Road in Wan Chai, like many low-income families at the time. She earned about 40 cents a day making two dozen plastic flowers - or about $10 for a month. 'It hurt your fingers and both eyes when you had to sew so many plastic flowers and beads every day. But it was a popular way for those who did not receive education to earn extra bucks for the family,' Mrs Lee explains.

She says her husband, a waiter, was paid only $150 a month to support the whole family. A tiny room was home for the family of four.

After the plastic flower industry declined in the 1970s, Mrs Lee worked as a babysitter for a few more years before she became a cleaner. Now she depends on her children and lives alone in a public flat in Sau Mau Ping.

Tse Yuk-chun, 86, was another worker who contributed to Hong Kong's industrial wealth when she was young. When she was 15, Mrs Tse worked for a home factory in Sheung Wan peeling peanuts and beans. She was paid 20 cents a day, working from 9am to 5pm, seven days a week.

'Twenty cents was a generously paid job considering that a bowl of congee and a deep fried bun cost only one cent. But I had to give all my salary to my adoptive mother who raised me after my natural mother sold me to her for $30 when I was only three,' she says. Mrs Tse now relies on the government old age allowance of $705 and also her children to support her.

When the economy began to take off in the 1950s, the city had about 3,000 established factories employing nearly 130,000 workers. A further 200,000 found employment in smaller industrial settings.

In the 1960s, industry, which before the second world war was of secondary importance to entrepot trade, played a dominant role as three-quarters of Hong Kong's exports were products manufactured or processed locally.

In the 1970s, the textile and clothing industry dominated the manufacturing sector, accounting for 45 per cent of domestic exports and 40 per cent of the manufacturing labour force. Making radio and television parts - as well as wigs - was also popular.