- 26
several cases where labour turnover was as low as 5% a year. Many of
the larger firms, even in manufacturing, are interested in committing their labour force (or at least a large proportion of it) permanently
to their employment, relying largely on putting-out work to smaller
sub-contractors to meet surges in demand: such commitment is, indeed,
the purpose of many of the welfare and bonus provisions which they
make (like accommodation and educational subsidies, or "long service"
and seniority bonuses).
37.
In any case, over a third of Hong Kong employment is white-
collar, much of it in public services or large trading, financial and
commercial institutions. And in these cases, the employee's prospects
of advancement (apart from a smallish number of people with particular
technical or administrative qualifications and expertise which are
still in scarce supply) depend largely on continuity of service with a
particular employer, to whose requirements the employee's knowledge and
capacity become increasingly specific with time, But the same is also
true of many manual occupations; in the absence (until recently) of
general apprenticeship and training systems, workers have acquired
their skills in particular firms, and these are often again fairly
specific to one or two entreprises. Moreover, many larger firms make a
practice of internal promotion to chargehands, foremen and supervisory posts (with accompanying discrimination in welfare and fringe benefits)
which gives the ambitious worker a strong interest in remaining with
one employer. On the other hand, older men with a refugee background
have a special concern for stability and security. Again, our surveys
showed that such people had often experienced a considerable drop in
social and economic status, which probably increased their reluctance
to take the risk of further mobility.
.....