The protests over the conditions of indentured labour led to its abolition in 1913 and the passing of a Labour Code of 1912. This Code brought together all the labour laws that hitherto been passed piecemeal in the State Council. There were provisions for length and validity of contracts; working hours: inspection of place; the right of workers to initiate action against as well as stiff punishment for labour offences. The only substantial change was that the worker was now"free and no longer bound by the indenture contract. The Labour Code embodied general condi- tions for all workers as well as separate sections for Indian and Chinese labour Further conditions and terms laid down by the government were contained in the Indian Emigration Act of 1922, governing the employment of Indian labour. This led to another Code in 1923. under which Indian labour could not be held to make contracts of more than one month's duration, and the minimum age for employ- ment of Indian child labour was fixed at ten years. The implemen- tation of the law, however, fell far short of its professed intention, and the planters' representatives on the Federal Council made it clear that they did not expect the Labour Department to apply the Code strictly, especially with regards education, health, and land allotments for the workers. Labour was in a weak position as long as the colonial govern- ment could conserve low wage rates by controlling the labour supply through immigration controls. Free mobility of labour meant little while there was a constant supply of labour and concerted action by the employers to keep wages down. Planters in the estates had their own methods of maintaining low wages, such as running their own estate stores which in turn determined the workers' cost of living. They also employed divisive tactics such as contracting higher paid Chinese labour on piece rates. The 4th May movement and the 1911 Revolution in China, with the corollary of the"Campaign for National Salvation in Malaya, had a great impact upon the political consciousness of the Chinese masses in Malaya. It was as much a campaign for the defence of workers' rights as it was a nationalist struggle. As the trend toward unionization(see pp.50-1) continued, the government decided to reverse its former policy of refusing to register trade guilds under the Societies ordinance on the grounds that they were subversive; from 1928, therefore, trade guilds were henceforth to be registered The overseas nationalist movement of the Indians in Malaya