44
59.
457
Otherwise, and certainly for the private sector, it
would not be far off the mark to say that the real trade union
movement in Hong Kong or the agency which compensates for the
absence of such a movement in any real sense is the Labour
Department. I think it would be broadly true, for instance, that
the various legal reforms in industrial relations and employment
conditions of recent years have largely originated in the administration
though no doubt pressure from organisations and agencies outside
guchi
Hong Kong, and from a few prominent individuals in the country, have
been instrumental in their initiation; just as the recent widening
of the composition of the Legislative Council to reduce the past
dominance of its "Unofficial" element by business and "establishment"
figures has helped to ensure the passing of certain mildly progressive
measures.
60.6.8
It is fairly clear, certainly, that the Labour Department
itself plays as active a role in negotiating the settlement of wage
revisions as do trade unions. Thus, in the last two years covered
by the Labour Commissioners' Reports, 1974 and 1975*, there were
32 cases in which major "Changes in Conditions of Employment" (nearly
all, wage-increases) were made by some process of mutual discussion
between employers and workers' representatives which became known to
the Department. In 18 of these a decision was reached by direct
negotiation alone, but in only 8 was a trade union reported as
involved. In 10 cases "the officers of the Labour Department conducted
the negotiations .....", including 4 in which unions were involved.
*see Appendix 6 of those Reports.
/In