representatives of the Factory inspectorate. During this meeting we obtained a considerable amount of statistical data which, for ease of assimilation, we have included in an appendix to this report.
From our discussions it seems that the colony of Hong Kong is governed by a legislative council, with membership made up of permanent civil servants, people appointed by the Crown and some other representatives appointed by the Governor, together with further representatives by suburban election. These people who are elected are elected from the suburbs where the total electorate is, we understand, about 40,000 as against a population in Hong Kong of some 4m. people. It would seem to an outsider looking in that the effect of Government in Hong Kong lies in the policy enunciated by the Governor following advice from his permanent civil servants.
The Labour Advisory Council is composed of four Trade Union repre- sentatives, four Employers and a number of civil servants. Two of the Trade Union representatives and two of the Employer representatives are elected by direct franchise from their appropriate body but since both the Trade Union movement and the Employers' organisation are woefully weak, this form of election leaves much to be desired, and the other Trade Union representatives and two Employers are appointed directly by the Governor. The Chairman of the Advisory Board is the Commissioner of Labour for the colony.
Although the Advisory Board is in existence, from the information available to us during our visit it would seem that there is very little direct consultation with the Trade Union movement in respect of Government legislation, even insofar as it affects the industrial life of the people of Hong Kong. This was a facet of life that was deeply resented in the colony.
Because of these circumstances there is very little faith in the Government, either in Hong Kong or Westminster, that they will do anything to achieve reasonable conditions for the workpeople. It was further felt by the Trade Union representatives that we met that the whole philosophy in Hong Kong was one of making it as easy as possible to employ labour at the lowest possible rate and conditions in order to export their goods throughout the world and any- thing which may disrupt this trading or the advantages accruing to manufac- turers in Hong Kong is discouraged.
When we raised the question of trading organisation with the Commissioner of Labour and his colleagues we were assured by them that what they would very much like to see is a strong Trade Union movement and also a strong Manufacturers' organisation to institute the collective bargaining procedure. We thought they accepted too easily the excuse that the difficulty of organising workpeople lay in religious and political problems and they could not organise the manufacturers since the Chinese, by nature, are individualists. These are excuses which must have been given by many countries and many Governments in the distant past. We had a feeling that there was hope in their department that somehow or other, at some time in the future, without any worrying on their behalf, this problem would be overcome, like a shining knight on a white charger, out of the nemesis would arise a strong free Trade Union movement
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