6.
X
relying on their own workers in recessions. Employess in the
small-scale sector would seem to have the worst of it, but it may
be that small employers compensate longer-established workers with
good wages and some measure of personal security. Certainly work
relations are less disciplined, more egalitarian and easygoing in
small business and it is more likely that ties of kinship, common
origin, etc would mitigate the worst effects of market forces.
In general we have found no evidence to refute the view that
the most common resolution of industrial conflict takes the form
of individual workers moving on to different jobs.
For young
people with no concern for the future mobility is easy; and the
system of giving notice is not always observed. Casual workers of
all ages must be mobile in order to maintain steady employment.
Commitment to making money encourages self-employment. These
arguments apply to a sizable part of the labour force, but it is
located in fairly well-sealed compartments and there are many
sectors of employment where turnover is extremely low and workers
cannot easily resolve their difficulties by moving from one job to
another.
Elements of stability in the labour force:
To some extent this is the workers' side of the issues raised
in section 4 (on employers' attempts to 'commit' personnel).
Points raised there need not be repeated. In brief, male workers
with families to raise need security of employment; this leads
many men to acquire skills tying them to stable industries which are dominated by one or two big employers (eg government, utilities).
Labour market freedom often carries with it the costs of foregone
promotion opportunities and/or lost particularistic relationships
which can serve to cushion the worst blows that the market has to
offer.
In any case, the refugee population is predisposed to trade
off some degree of freedom for continuity of employment. Hence the
success of paternalistic employers in introducing short-time working
during the recession. There may be major differences in this
respect between HK-born young people and those with direct
experience of events on the mainland. The collective experience of
downward mobility which most refugees suffered in the 1948-50
period has had a lasting effect on labour relations in HK and
serves to stabilize the labour force to some extent. Finally,