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EMPLOYMENT
The Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions, a left-wing organisation, has 71 affiliated unions with about 171 070 members. A further 21 unions are friendly towards this federation and they have about 21 700 members. The affiliated and associated unions are concentrated in shipyards, textile mills, public transport, public utilities and the printing and carpentry trades.
The Hong Kong and Kowloon Trades Union Council has right-wing sympathies and is affiliated with the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions. It has 70 affiliated unions with membership of about 35 610 and nine associated unions with some 2040 members. These unions are mainly in the catering and building trades.
The remaining 211 employees' unions are politically independent and have a member- ship of about 122 720, mostly drawn from the civil service and the teaching profession.
Labour Administration and Services
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The Labour Department has an establishment of 1 623 and its services continue to expand. Branch offices in the urban area and the New Territories deal promptly with labour matters raised by local employers and employees. The Commissioner for Labour is the principal adviser to the government on labour affairs. He is also the Commissioner of Mines.
The department initiates labour legislation and ensures that Hong Kong's obligations under international labour conventions are observed. It is made up of 16 divisions: administration, air pollution control, development, departmental publicity, employees' compensation, employment services, factory inspectorate, labour relations, mines, occupa- tional health, pressure equipment, prosecutions, selective placement, staff training and development, women and young persons, youth employment advisory service and overseas employment service.
During the year, the department up-graded the former staff training unit to a division whose responsibilities also include career development. The division organised six induc- tion courses for new recruits and 15 officers were sent overseas for further training and in preparation for new areas of service to be provided to the public.
Labour Relations
The Labour Relations Ordinance provides machinery for special conciliation, voluntary arbitration and boards of enquiry for settling trade disputes that cannot be resolved through ordinary conciliation.
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In 1983, 152 trade disputes were handled by the conciliation service provided by the Labour Relations Service of the Labour Department. These disputes led to 11 work stoppages, resulting in 2 530 working days lost, compared with 17 960 days lost in 34 stoppages in 1982. The service also dealt with 17 739 labour problems. These were mostly grievances involving individual claims for wages in arrears, wages in lieu of notice, severance pay, annual leave pay and holiday pay.
During the year, the promotion unit of the Labour Relations Service - responsible for the promotion of harmonious labour-management relations - made 322 advisory visits to employers and conducted a series of promotional activities. These included evening talks in four industrial areas, eight training courses on the Employment Ordinance and four seminars on labour relations. A total of 1 253 management personnel, union officials and workers' representatives participated.
The Labour Tribunal, which is part of the Judiciary, provides a quick, inexpensive and informal method of adjudicating certain types of disputes between employees and employers with a minimum of formality. The tribunal deals with claims of right, wherever possible in