STAFF RELATIONS IN THE HONG KONG CIVIL SERVICE
Staff Relations in the Hong Kong Civil Service are in a state of flux
after a history of relative quiescence. Union organization and activity
is gathering momentum against a background of renewed economic growth
following the 1973-4 recession. In the context of the Colony as a whole,
government employment is the only field where industrial relations are
"maturing" in the style of the advanced economies. Demands for union
recognition and negotiating rights place the management of senior civil
servants in a position where procedural reform is viewed as a more
attractive option than inertia. The problems of public sector pay deter-
mination familiar in the OECD economies are replicated in an economy in
transit from Third World' to 'First World' status, and are probably
exacerbated by the dominant free market orientation of the Colony's
commerce and industry.