I
CONFIDENTIAL
APPENDIX A
NOTE BY THE OVERSEAS LABOUR ADVISER ON RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
IN INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS LEGISLATION
INCLUDING THE PROBLEM OF ESSENTIAL SERVICES
1. The United Kingdom's Industrial Relations Act, parts of which came into operation as from 1 October, contains pro- visions which may be of interest to the Hong Kong Government, particularly as regards emergency procedures and sympathetic strikes. This Note is intended to give a brief explanation of the new Act's provisions on these matters in case they may be relevant to a review of the adequacy of existing legisla- tion and industrial relations practice, particularly in relation to essential services.
Emergency Situations
2. The Secretary of State is able to intervene where he believes that the effect of industrial action (whether it is a strike or irregular industrial action short of a strike or lock-out, for example a 'go-slow') will be likely to cause an interruption in the supply of goods or the provision of services which would:
3.
(i)
(ii)
be gravely injurious to the national economy, imperil national security or create a serious risk of public disorder;
endanger the lives of a substantial number of people or expose them to serious risk of disease or injury (Section 138 (2)).
In those situations there are two forms of emergency procedure which may be followed by the Secretary of State.
(i) He may apply to the Industrial Court for an order
requiring those who are organising industrial action (or threatening to do so) to defer or discontinue the action for the period (limited to a maximum of 60 days) the Court's order is in force. He must be satisfied, however, that deferment of industrial action would help to bring about a settlement by negotiation.
(ii)
Ho may apply to the Court for an order requiring that a ballot of employees concerned be held to give them an opportunity to show whether they favour industrial action. Before applying for a ballot order, however, the Secretary of State must have grounds for believing that there is some doubt about the desire of the workers concerned to go on striko, and that they have not had a reasonable chance to indicate their views on the desirability of indus- trial action. Before he applies for an order, the Secretary of State is also required to consult every employer, every trade union and every employers' association involved. While the ballot
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CONFIDENTIAL