EMPLOYMENT
31
of certain contracts of employment, provides for protection of wages of employees, and regulates the operation of employment agencies.
With the exception of a small neutral and independent segment, workers' unions are either affiliated to, or associated with, one of two local federations which bear allegiance to opposing political groups and which are registered as societies. Divided politically and further separated by differences in dialect, the number of unions has grown beyond practical needs and divergent loyalties have prevented those with common interests from amalgamating into effective organizations.
The Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions supports the Chinese People's Republic. Most of the members of its 65 affiliated unions were concentrated in shipyards, textile-mills, and public utilities. A further 16 unions, nominally independent, are friendly with the federation and participate in its activities. The other trade union federation, the Hong Kong and Kowloon Trades Union Council, sympathizes with the policies of the Taiwan authorities. Most of the members of its 65 affiliated unions and of the 31 nominally independent unions, which generally support the Trade Union Council, are employed in the catering and building trades. The Trades Union Council is affiliated to the International Con- federation of Free Trade Unions. There are 74 independent unions, some of which continued to make improvements in their internal administration and in the services offered to their members.
The Labour Relations Division of the Labour Department dealt with 2,954 disputes, of which 418 involved large wage claims. This compared with 476 last year. There were a further 2,536 minor disputes compared with 2,881 in the previous year. Altogether there were 24 strikes and the number of man-days lost in all disputes was 8,432 compared with 22,525 in 1967.
The year saw encouraging signs of employers and employees getting together, on their own initiative and in a friendly manner, to talk about their mutual differences and to try to solve them. At the beginning of the year the employees of four large public transport companies, joined together to put forward, through their unions, proposals for increases in wages and allowances. The managements concerned responded by agreeing to negotiate