O
CONFIDENTIAL
The President of the Tribunal has accordingly asked for an increase in establishment involving one additional Presiding Officer and the ancillary staff necessary to establish a fourth court. I consider this to be reasonable and necessary as the case load of the Tribunal can only increase as industrialisation proceeds in the New Territories.
TRADE UNIONS
22. The Employment Ordinance gives an employee the statutory right to belong to a union registered under the Trades Union Ordinance; to take part in union activities at appropriate times and to associate with other persoms in forming and seeking registration of a union. Problems which result from the political orientation of many unions, their proliferation and their ineffectiveness in dealings with employers are being studied by Professor Turner and I do not propose to elaborate on them in this report. Professor Turner is expected to visit Hong Kong again in the near future and representatives of the Federation of Hong Kong Industries, the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce and the Chinese Manufacturers' Association have asked that he should meet them to discuss his preliminary views before he completes his study. They asked that this meeting should take place under the auspices of the Joint Associations Committee on Employer/Employee Relations.
23. At a meeting with employer-members of the Labour Advisory Board, trade union representatives on that body were impressive in presenting their points, particularly on the Green Paper "Help for those Least Able to Help Themselves" and on the subject of a statutory minimum wage. Representatives of the Hong Kong Trades Union Council were noticeably less impressive in later private discussions with me on what they might do to represent their members' interests in dealing at the workplace with employers. This is a problem which will clearly confront Professor Turner. It seems that unions believe the way ahead is through the Government's programme of labour and social legislation and the part they can actively play is limited. Nevertheless it is only fair to record that unions in the private sector participated in 65 of the 145 trade disputes occurring in 1977 and mentioned in para.25 below. The most active were the left-wing HK Spinning, Weaving and Dyeing Trade Workers General Union and the pro-left HK and K Cement and Concrete Construction Trade Workers, the Union of Godown and Wharf Workers and the Union of Eating Establishment Employees. Between them they intervened in 41 disputes, in most cases at the request of the workers. The predominantly female HK and K Electronics Industry Employees General Union was also involved in 6 trade disputes. (Both trade union and employer representatives expressed reservations on the concept of a statutory minimum wage: the former largely on the grounds that some of ther less productive (handicapped) members might be put out of work and the minimum might become the maximum;
the latter claimed it would affect the competitiveness
of Hong Kong's export trade).
8
CONFIDENTIAL
/LABOUR RELATIONS