!
G
19
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
16 and get workers in Hong Kong a larger share in the Colony's wealth.
The proportion of the sample agreeing with these items varied between 35
and
50, as
as Table 8 shows; and in most cased 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 dont 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 res-
pondents 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 union at their place of work if they had wanted to.
There were also consistent differences between ren and women with the former
17
feeling that trade unions should undertake the functions listed in the
question while the latter tended to give don't know replies. Finally in
while
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.
In the last question on trade unionism, the respondents were asked whether