EMPLOYMENT
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During the year, 35 new unions were registered. At the end of the year, there were 626 unions, comprising 583 employees' unions, 25 employers' associations and 18 mixed organisations of employees and employers.
About half of the employees' unions are affiliated to the following five major labour organisations registered under the Societies Ordinance: the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (130 affiliated unions), the Hong Kong and Kowloon Trades Union Council (57 unions), the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (47 unions), the Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions (44 unions) and the Federation of Civil Service Unions (18 unions).
Labour Relations
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Despite the difficult economic adjustment experienced by Hong Kong, labour relations remained harmonious. In 1999, the Labour Relations Division of the Labour Department provided conciliation service in 290 trade disputes, a decrease of 14 per cent over 1998. Disputes in 1999 involved three work stoppages and resulted in a loss of only 299 working days. During the year, 0.1 working days were lost per 1 000 wage earners and salaried employees, which is among the world's lowest rates. The division also handled 31 890 claims for wages and other employment related benefits or entitlements, an increase of 5.6 per cent over 1998. About 60 per cent of the disputes and claims in 1999 were settled through conciliation by the division.
The Labour Relations Ordinance provides a set of procedures for the settlement of trade disputes which include ordinary conciliation, special conciliation, mediation, arbitration and board of inquiry.
The Labour Department promotes harmonious labour-management relations. through a variety of activities such as conducting promotional visits and giving talks to individual establishments, employers' associations and trade unions; organising training courses, workshops, seminars and exhibitions; and disseminating information on labour legislation and a wide range of labour matters.
The Workplace Consultation Promotion Unit of the Labour Department provides free consultancy services to help employers develop effective machinery for staff communication, consultation and voluntary negotiation. It also promotes tripartite dialogue at the industry level through the setting up of committees comprising representatives of employers, employees and labour officials. With the assistance of the unit, tripartite committees have been formed in the catering, construction, theatre, warehouse and cargo transport as well as property management trades. To further promote, encourage and benchmark employers in achieving good people management practices, the unit launched for the first time the Good People Management Award in 1999. Sixteen winners were selected from 119 participating employers.
The Labour Tribunal
The Labour Tribunal is part of the Judiciary and provides a quick, inexpensive and informal method of adjudicating various types of disputes between employees and employers which are not within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Minor Employment Claims Adjudication Board.
In 1999, the tribunal heard 10 996 cases involving employees as claimants and a further 328 cases initiated by employers. The presiding officers awarded more than