293
Draft Bill.
No. S. 143. The following Bill, which it is proposed to introduce into the Legislative Council shortly, is published for general information.
C.S.O. 3262:27.
[No. 11--21.6.27.-1.
A BILL
INTITULED
An Ordinance to declare and amend the law relating to illegal strikes, to amend the law relating to intimidation, and to breaches of contracts of service in certain special cases, to promote the independence of trade unions established within the Colony, and for purposes connected with the aforesaid purposes.
Be it enacted by the Governor of Hong Kong, with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council thereof, as follows :---
1. This Ordinance may be cited as the Illegal Strikes Short title, Ordinance, 1927.
2. In this Ordinance,
(a)
Strike" means the cessation of work by a body of persons employed acting in combination, or a concerted refusal, or a refusal under a common understanding, of any number of persons who are or have been employed, to continue to work or to accept employment,
(b) Trade union
means any combination of per- sous employed, whether a temporary or a perma- nent combination, and whether a branch associa- tion or not, which has among its objects the regulation of the relations between employers and employed.
Interpreta- tion.
3.--(I) It is hereby declared that any strike is illegal illegal if it has any object other than or in addition to the further- strikes. ance of a trade dispute within the trade or industry in which the strikers are engaged and is a strike designed or calculated to coerce the Government either directly or by inflicting hardship upon the community or any substantial portion of the community; and it is further declared that it is illegal to commence, or to continue, or to apply any sums in furtherance or support of, any such illegal strike.
(2) For the purposes of sub-section (1), a trade dispute shall not be deemed to be within a trade or industry unless it is a dispute between employers and workinen, or between workmen and workmen, in that trade or industry, which is connected with the employment or non-employment or the terms of the employment, or with the conditions of labour, of persons in that trade or industry,
(3) No person shall declare, instigate, incite others to take part in, or otherwise act in furtherance of a strike declared by this Ordinance to be illegal: Provided that no person shall be deemed to have committed an offence under this section or at a common law by reason only of his having ceased work or refused to continue work or to accept employment.
4.-(1) No person refusing to take part or to continue Protection of to take part in any strike which is by this Ordinance persons declared to be illegal, shall be, by reason of such refusal or refusing to
take part in by reason of any action taken hy him under this section, illegal strikes. subject to expulsion from any trade union or society, or to any fine or penalty, or to deprivation of any right or benefit