3
Article 5 (applied with modification)
Federations of organizations of workers or employers may be registered under Part IX of the ordinance provided:
(i) each of the component trade unions comprising such trade
union federation is a registered trade union; and
(ii) the members of each and all of such component trade unions
are employed in the same trade or industry.
Federations or confederations of organizations of workers or employers which by virtue of the foregoing provisos, are not entitled to registration under the Trade Union Registration Ordinance continue to be registered under the Societies Ordinance. Two such organizations have been registered, the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions and the Hong Kong and Kowloon Trades Union Council.
Section 45 of the ordinance relates to trade union affiliation outside Hong Kong and such affiliation is subject to the consent of the Governor-in-Council. In the case of the other mentioned organizations (i.e. those federations not registered as trade unions) affiliation with international organizations is governed by section 5 of the Societies Ordinance. The Hong Kong and Kowloon Trades Union Council is at present affiliated to the I.C.F.T.U.
Nineteen applications by local trade unions for affiliation with a trade union or other organization established outside the Colony have thus far been approved by the Governor-in-Council under section 45 of the ordinance. One further application was under consideration at the end of the period under review.
In view of the provisions of section 45 and of Part IX, this article has been declared applicable with the following modifications:
1. The consent of the public authority (in this case, the Governor-in-
Council) is required for affiliation of trade unions with inter- national organizations.
2*
Federations of trade unions may be established only by registered trade unions engaged in the same trade or industry, and membership of federations of trade unions is restricted to registered trade unions engaged in the same trade or industry as the component trade unions comprising such trade union federations.
Article 6 (applied with modification)
Federations and confederations which are registered under provisions of Part IX of the ordinance have the same standing in law as other registered trade unions and the same rights and liabilities. The modifications on article 3 relating to primary trade unions consequently apply also to federa- tions of trade unions except that the consent of the public authority for a person to be at the same time an officer of a trade union and an officer of a federation of which the union is a member is required only if he is not habitually engaged in a trade or occupation with which the union is directly concerned.
Article 7
Part VI of the ordinance confers on organizations registered under the ordinance immunity from actions of tort and acts in restraint of trade. Under section 13, a registered trade union is given corporate status.