2
JU
unions in principle were in favour of the latter undertaking most
of the activities mentioned - including, curiously, recruiting more
members.
652.
The more general survey of the workforce appears to confim
much of this picture, perhaps modified by its inclusion
-
of more men,
Sk
being more
and also of white
fully representative of employees
collar workers (as well, no doubt, by the improvements of its
content and formulation which resulted from the first "pilot"
experiment). Welfare benefits closely rival pay as the top priority
for improvement at the workplace, and it is again significant that
A
although in this case at least a fifth of the respondents must
have been union members
wang
only 1% of them considered a stronger unior
organisation as of prime importance.
1753.
Here, a considerable list emerged of general improvements
in social or employment conditions as preferrable to higher income
including (in order, though the different strengths of preference
were not great) better educational provision and housing, pensions
and sickness benefits and more job security. As in the case of our
factory workers, however, only a minority of our interviewees
preferred more leisure to higher income
suggesting the Government
has perhaps been on the wrong talk in giving priority to this over
in
other social improvements. But this case, moreover, three-quarters
A.
of our respondents were prepared actually to accept an income
reduction for particular improvements - better housing, education
and pensions being their top priorities. Which contradicted a
common argument against social security schemes in Hong Kong, that
workers would not be prepared to contribute to them.
/ Again,