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While the long overdue changes referred to above are socially desirable, and consequently welcome, it must also be stressed that these changes will not neces- sarily help to create effective and representative trade unionism at the pace that is necessary. Indeed there are no doubt many in Hong Kong who question the neces- sity of trade unions even in this modern age. To these the reply must be that trade unions exist to respond to the problems of working people and to articulate their interests and aspirations. In a not dissimilar manner the manufacturing and commercial sectors in the Colony already organise in associations to represent and advance their interests.
The Hong Kong Cotton Industry Workers' General Union and the Textile Workers' Asian Regional Organisation argued recently in a memorandum to you and your col- leagues:
"The growth of a responsible trade union movement is essential to the achievement of social justice in Hong Kong and to the Colony's peaceful development."
Improvements in the wages and working conditions of workers, let alone the introduction of progressive social provision, cannot be initiated or implemented solely by
the government working in a vacuum. Given its lack of · a representative basis, the government, however well- intentioned, is bound to see the problems and aspirations of workers differently from working people. As has al- 'ready been pointed out, the Hong Kong government cannot
be said to have responded to the workers' needs with
speed, let alone any degree of concern. Workers them- selves, through their experience, intelligence and train- ing, can represent their own interests adequately. What they need is an effective social and administrative mach-
inery to process these interests. This can best be pro- vided by a strong representative trade union movement.
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Trade Unions