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them very well and they won't volunteer to set up effective
negotiating instruments which by pass the unions. I doubt whether
legislation to that effect would seriously alter the balance of
forces between capital and labour so as to affect materially the
determination of wage levels; nor would foreign trade unions look
on it with much favour, so its cosmetic appeal is limited. Equally,
it is clear that the social and political conditions for the
development of effective unions in the western sense simply do not
exist in HK, and no amount of pressure from the top will change
that. The employers seem perfectly capable of looking after
themselves, and that part of our terms of reference which talks
about "effective employers organizations" is obviously irrelevant.
The study of employers' associations was thus of academic interest
only.
on
So the question of improving the condition of HK's work-force
without damaging the colony's productive base is not really
contained within the sphere of industrial relations as such.
Broader issues are involved than it was in our terms of reference to investigate: the adequacy of social security mechanisms (public
and private), the influence of rents as opposed to wages
industry's cost structure and profitability in the long run,
possible reforms of the education system, and so on. The list
could be expanded infinitely. In the second half of the study,
it may be worthwhile concentrating on the impact of existing and future labour legislation and on social security/social services,
rather than on the pattern of industrial relations and labour
market conditions, about which very little can be said that is both constructive and well-informed (as long as the majority of unionists in HK have no interest in talking to people like ourselves).
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