EMPLOYMENT
Trade Unions
In Hong Kong, trade unions must be registered under the Trade Unions Ordinance, which is administered by the Registrar of Trade Unions. Once registered, they become corporate bodies and enjoy immunity from certain civil suits.
During the year, 23 new unions were registered. At the end of the year, there were 494 unions, comprising 452 employees' unions with about 439 500 members, 29 employers' associations with some 2900 members, and 13 mixed organisations of employees and employers with about 17 400 members.
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The majority of employees' unions are affiliated to one or the other of the three local societies registered under the Societies Ordinance - the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions, the Hong Kong and Kowloon Trades Union Council and the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions. The Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions has 82 affiliated unions with about 174 500 members. The Hong Kong and Kowloon Trades Union Council has 70 affiliated unions with a membership of about 31 000. The Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions which was registered in February 1990 has 21 affiliated unions with about 62 300 members. The remaining 279 employees' unions have a total membership of about 171 700.
Labour Administration and Services
The Labour Department has an establishment of 1 430. It has 14 branch offices through- out the territory to serve employers and employees on a local basis. The Commissioner for Labour is the principal adviser to the government on labour affairs.
The department initiates proposals for labour legislation and ensures that Hong Kong's obligations under international labour conventions are observed. Other major activities of the department include enforcement of legislation regulating employment conditions; providing employment assistance; promoting good labour relations; providing assistance to employees injured at work and persons suffering from occupational diseases in obtaining compensation; protecting and promoting the safety and health of workers, and admin- istering legislation on explosives, prospecting, quarrying and mining.
With effect from March 1, 1991, the responsibility for administering legislation on explosives, prospecting, quarrying and mining has been transferred to the Civil Engineer- ing Services Department. On the same date, the Commissioner for Labour ceased to be concurrently the Commissioner of Mines.
Labour Relations
In 1990, the Labour Relations Service of the Labour Department conciliated in 168 trade disputes which involved 15 work stoppages, with a loss of 3 495 working days. The service also dealt with 16 610 claims for wages in lieu of notice, wages in arrears, annual leave pay, holiday pay, end-of-year payment, severance payment, long service payment and others.
The Labour Relations Ordinance provides the machinery for special conciliation, voluntary arbitration and boards of enquiry for settling trade disputes that cannot be resolved through ordinary conciliation.
The Labour Relations Service's Promotion Unit endeavours to promote harmonious labour-management relations in the private sector through a variety of activities such as promotional visits to individual establishments in major economic sectors, employ- ers' associations and employees' trade unions; organising training courses, seminars,
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