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Union Council (TUC).
(b) The latest information available (31 March 1972) shows
that the FTU has at present 66 affiliated unions largely
concentrated in the public utilities, the printing trades,
textile mills, shipyards, sea-faring and Western-type
hotel. The FTU affiliates claimed a total membership of
126,408, an increase of 12,021 over the year.
(c) The TUC, which sympathises with the policies of the
Taiwan authorities, has 91 affiliated unions which claimed a
total membership of 36,005, a decrease of 45 compared with
the previous year. Most of the members of those unions and
of the independent unions which generally support the Council
are employed in textiles, catering and the building and
constructions trades.
(a) The Hong Kong TUC is affiliated to the ICFTU and two of
the International Trade Secretariats associated with the
ICFTU have full time paid representatives in Hong Kong: the
International Textile, Leather and Garment Workers Federation
and the International Metalworkers Federation.
(e) If paid-up membership is taken as the criterion, the
unions probably represent no more than 10% of the total
working force of about 1.5 million.
Despite its external links, the TUC remains a largely
ineffective body. Industrial grievances may be taken up but (in
common with the FTU) the TUC is not able to secure the recognition
necessary for the negotiation of wage agreements. The prevailing
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