38
(3) The Government's own labour relations seem to me in
something of a mess and since the Government is
Hong Kong's biggest single employer and (as we previously
showed) a pace-setter for much of private employment,
this is important. I am aware that there are movements
both on the trade union and official sides to correct
certain deficiencies in the present situation. But I
K
am far from convinced that these will in fact produce
a solution or even necessarily an improvement. I.
would not like to comment further without more extensive
study (which I have arranged privately, but I hope will have the cooperation of the Civil Service Department);
but the role of the Government's own pay policy in
Hong Kong's labour relations is certainly more central
than it perhaps itself appreciates.
Ja
81. Very many people including over forty business, union and public organisations, nearly 150 companies and firms, and over 1000 individual
workers and employees, as well as many individual officials and
academies, have helped us with information, views and comment in our
study to date. We have, with very few exceptions, met very willing
cooperation in our enquiries and arrangements, which we gladly
acknowledge. We should particularly, however, like to express our
appreciation of the cooperation and facilities placed at our disposal
by the Labour Commissioner and his officers, by the Secretary for the
Civil Service and his staff, by the Bureau of Census and Statistics, by
the Centre of Asian Studies of the University of Hong Kong (on which we
were based) and HKU's Robert Black College, as well as by the Business
and Industrial Administration Department of the Hong Kong Polytechnic,
whose students (together with some from HKU) were released to act as
interviewers for us.
HA Turner
30 December 1976