EMPLOYMENT
33
engaged or employed in the trade or occupation with which the trade union is directly concerned. The appointment of union mem- bers to the executive must be made by decision of the members taken by means of secret ballot and members so appointed must not be less than 21 years of age. Except with the written consent of the Registrar, a person cannot, at the same time, be an officer of more than one registered trade union but this restriction does not apply to an officer of a trade union who simultaneously holds office in a registered trade union federation of which his union is a member. Any person convicted of crimes involving fraud, dishonesty, extortion, or membership of a triad society cannot be an officer of a trade union except with the consent of the Governor in Council.
No registered trade union may be a member of any trade union or other organization established outside Hong Kong except with the consent of the Governor in Council.
Registered trade unions are immune from actions in tort when acting in contemplation or furtherance of a trade dispute. In a like manner, individuals acting in agreement or combination are given protection from the law relating to conspiracy and tort provided that the act, if committed by one person, would not be punishable as a crime or not actionable if done without agreement or combina- tion. Peaceful picketing is allowed but violence, intimidation, and watching or besetting are prohibited.
Registered trade unions are deemed to be corporate bodies for all purposes but, while two or more registered trade unions, irres- pective of their trade or industry, may amalgamate, membership of trade union federations is confined to registered trade unions within the same trade or industry.
Registered unions are required by law to keep accurate accounts which must be audited by a person approved by the Registrar and to forward them to the Registrar within three months of the end of the union's financial year. Unions must also give to the Registrar, before April 1 each year, a return for the 12 months ended Decem- ber 31 in the previous year showing membership figures, the names and occupations of the principal officers, and the name of the auditor.
The 318 unions on the register at the end of 1968 consisted of 251 workers' unions with a total declared membership of