EMPLOYMENT
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affiliated unions but also to all workers willing to accept them. Throughout the year the FTU restrained itself in labour matters and tended to avoid open commitment either in negotiations by affiliated unions for wage claims or in other industrial disputes.
The Hong Kong and Kowloon Trades Union Council, the TUC, supports the policies of the Government of Taiwan. It has 69 affiliated unions, including three mixed unions of employers and employees, and 56 nominally independent unions also generally support it. Many members of these unions are employed in Chinese restaurants and tea-houses and in the building trade. The TUC is affiliated to the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, the ICFTU. Although it does not play a very active part in this organization it sent representatives to the Asia regional conference of the ICFTU which was held during the year in the Philippines.
While the independent unions generally have small memberships, a few are quite large and influential. The Hong Kong Teachers' Association, with over 5,000 members, is an important and pro- gressive organization. The Western-style Catering Trade Workers Union, recently formed, made considerable progress during its first year of existence and built up a strong and efficient organization.
Trade union education developed considerably during 1960. The Labour Department organized the first course in trade union leadership in May, when 20 trade union officers, including three women, attended for four days. A second course was run in December. Four series of classes on trade union accounting were also arranged by the Labour Department in co-operation with the Hong Kong Technical College, as well as a series of lectures and discussions on simple trade union administration. In the early part of 1960 six talks and discussions on trade unions and Hong Kong industry were broadcast in Cantonese by Radio Hong Kong and Rediffusion (Hong Kong) Ltd. These programmes were specially designed for members of both employers' and workers' unions.
The Labour Department prepared four booklets on trade union topics as text books for the course on trade union administration. These are to be printed and distributed to all trade unions. The first booklet, 'Duties of officers' was issued in the autumn and the second book, 'Conduct of meetings' is being printed now.