50
HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
continue to be affected by political considerations. With the exception of a small number of independent unions, the majority of workers' unions are affiliated to one of the two trade union federations.
The Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions, which supports the Chinese People's Republic, has 57 affiliated unions, the majority of whose members are employed in the leading shipyards and utility companies. During the year the F.T.U. continued its policy of providing welfare bene- fits not only to members of affiliated unions, but also to all workers willing to accept them.
The Hong Kong and Kowloon Trades Union Council, which supports the Nationalist regime in Taiwan, has slightly over 100 affiliated unions, the majority of whose members are employed in building construction, Chinese restaurants, tea houses, and in catering and miscellaneous services. The T.U.C. remains affiliated to the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, but does not play an active part within that body. During the year the T.U.C. developed its Labour House project and started erection of a building to house the organization and to provide premises for some of its affiliated unions.
While the T.U.C. has a far greater number of affiliated unions than the F.T.U., the aggregate declared membership and estimated paid-up membership of affiliated unions of the F.T.U. is nearly twice that of the unions under the T.U.C.
Independent unions are few and mostly small in member- ship, and several of them are undecided as to where their interests should lie. Some of them, however, have shown signs of genuine trade union activity in the interests of their members. One of the larger independent unions, the Hong Kong Teachers' Association, which is affiliated to the World Confederation of Organizations of the Teaching Profession, has made substantial progress not only in membership, which has more than doubled, but also in service to its members.