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EMPLOYMENT
dependent territory of the United Kingdom, Hong Kong's declarations on the application of the conventions are made by the United Kingdom Government after consultation with the Hong Kong Government. The Commissioner for Labour ensures that Hong Kong's obligations under International Labour Conventions are observed.
International Labour Conventions have significant influence on the formulation of labour legislation in the territory. Hong Kong now has a comprehensive body of labour law governing the conditions of employment, safety and health and employees' com- pensation. As at December, Hong Kong applied 48 conventions, 29 in full and 19 with modification, and compared favourably with most members of the International Labour Organisation in the region.
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, a trade union becomes a corporate body and enjoys immunity from certain civil suits.
During the year, 17 new unions were registered. At the end of the year, there were 522 unions, comprising 481 employees' unions, 27 employers' associations and 14 mixed organisations of employees and employers, and their total memberships were about 488 000, 2 900 and 15 400 respectively.
The majority of employees' unions are affiliated to one of the six local societies registered under the Societies Ordinance Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (87 affiliated unions with about 181 900 members); Hong Kong and Kowloon Trade Unions Council (69 affiliated unions with about 30 600 members); Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (27 affiliated unions with about 71 100 members); the Joint Organisation of Unions, Hong Kong (18 affiliated unions with about 9 900 members); Hong Kong Trade Union Education Centre (13 affiliated unions with about 65 000 members); and the Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions (18 affiliated unions with about 23 800 members). The remaining 249 employees' unions have a total membership of about 105 700.
Labour Administration and Services
Headed by the Commissioner for Labour, the Labour Department is responsible for formulating proposals on labour legislation, promoting good labour relations, protecting the safety and health of workers, providing assistance to job seekers and to employees injured at work and persons suffering from occupational diseases in obtaining compen- sation, and enforcement of legislation regulating employment conditions. During 1992, there were 6 799 prosecutions for breaches of ordinances and regulations administered by the Labour Department. Fines totalling $19,420,700 were imposed.
Labour Relations
In 1992, the Labour Relations Division of the Labour Department conciliated in 137 trade disputes (each involving 21 or more workers) which involved 11 work stoppages, with a loss of 3 296 working days. The service also dealt with 17 130 claims for wages and other employment-related payments.
The Labour Relations Ordinance provides the machinery for special conciliation, voluntary arbitration and boards of enquiry to settle trade disputes which cannot be resolved through ordinary conciliation.