xvi
considered that trade unions did have a part to play (38%) ties in with
the low importance accorded to trade unions by the respondents in the
previous questions on job choice. The younger section of the sample were
more likely to think trade unions had a positive role: 44% of the
younger men and 49% of the younger women felt this compared to 17% of
the older men 22% of the older women. A substantial number of older men
and women opted for "don't know" here.
The respondents were asked whether or not trade unions should undertake
certain activities, and a substantial minority here agreed with the
inclusion of all the functions: they felt that trade unions should
bargain with employers, handle individual members' grievances, provide
welfare benefits, social services and recreational activities, recruit
new members and get workers in Hong Kong a larger share in the
16 Colony's wealth. The proportion of the sample agreeing with these
items varied between 35 and 50, as Table 8 shows; and in most cases
was thus slightly higher than the proportion who felt that trade unions
had a useful role to play. Few of the respondents felt that trade
unions should not undertake any particular kind of action but, on the
other hand, few felt that trade unions should undertake any other
activities not on the list.
However, the overall survey figures mask some important differences
between the sub-groups in the sample here, as column 195 (ii), (iii)
and (iv) of Table 8 show. The majority of the employees of large firms
felt that trade unions should undertake all the functions listed in the
question whereas the employees of the small firms tended to give don't
know replies here. This finding tends to suggest that the small
employees were less likely to come into contact with trade unions and
consequently had little idea of how they functioned. But on the other
hand, it may be the case that the respondents in the small firms were
more afraid to reply to questions on trade unionism in case their
employers found out how they had answered. What is needed here is a
specific question as how many respondents could have joined a trade
17 union at their place of work if they had wanted to. There were also
consistent differences between men and women with the former feeling
that trade unions should undertake the functions listed in the question
while the latter tended to give don't know replies. Finally in the
case of some particular trade union functions, the unskilled respondents
appeared to be more in favour while the skilled and semi-skilled gave
don't know replies.