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3.
In January, a delegation from SATA came to
London. Among other people, they met Lord Goronwy- Roberts on 18 January, and at that meeting the
Minister undertook to do what he could to bring the dispute to a satisfactory conclusion. Mr Stewart therefore wrote again to the Secretary for the Civil Service setting out various possible ways in which an interim settlement might be reached. In their reply, Hong Kong explained that there were objections to each of these proposals. They argued strongly that the issue was one which must be dealt with in Hong Kong and that for♦ HMG to intervene could lead to a flood
of appeals to London over minor industrial` disputes in the Hong Kong Civil Service.
4. In the meantime, Mr Hooley, together with 2 other MPs, Mr Robert Parry and Mr Stan Newens, wrote again to Lord Goronwy-Roberts reviving the idea of arbitration, suggesting that ACAS might take this on. Lord Goronwy-Roberts replied on 1 February informing them of his commitment at the meeting with SATA's representatives to help bring the dispute to a satisfactory conclusion.
5. We wrote yet again to Hong Kong on 14 April asking for a report on the present state of play in the dispute, and urging them to seek a settlement in order to avert the risk that criticism arising from this relatively minor issue could broaden into wider criticism of their labour relations policy in general. In their reply, however, Hong Kong argue that no new factors have emerged to justify their changing their mind. They urge, therefore, that in replying to Mr Hooley we should continue to take the line that since the great majority of the staff involved have accepted the Government's proposals, arbitration is inappropriate.
16.