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BACKGROUND AND ARGUMENT
2.
Arising from the Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. labour dispute in January 1993, the Governor has asked the Secretary for Education and Manpower to consider what lessons might be learned from the dispute.
Procedures for Settling Disputes
3.
D
At present, a set of procedures is established under the LRO to settle trade
disputes. They include:
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
conciliation;
special conciliation;
arbitration; and
board of inquiry.
A chart showing the procedures is at Annex A.
4.
Both conciliation and special conciliation are voluntary and their place in the legislation is to enable the Commissioner for Labour to inquire into and to authorise a conciliation officer or a special conciliation officer to conciliate in a trade dispute. No compulsion is exerted by the Ordinance as the essence of conciliation is a mutual desire by the parties to reach an amicable settlement.
5.
If an attempt to settle the dispute by special conciliation fails, the Commissioner may submit a report on the trade dispute together with his recommendation to the Governor in Council. The Governor in Council may then :-
(a)
with the consent of the parties, refer the dispute to arbitration; or
(b)
refer the dispute to a board of inquiry; or
(c)
take such other action as warranted by the circumstances of the dispute.
6.
Independent of the procedures stated above, the Governor in Council may order a cooling-off period of not more than 30 days if a dispute is likely to disrupt the supply of goods or provision of services to such an extent that it might be gravely injurious to the economy, or seriously affect the livelihood of a substantial number of persons, or create a serious risk of
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