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Employment
Trade Unions
The Registry of Trade Unions administers the Trade Unions Ordinance and promotes good and responsible trade union management. Once registered, a trade union becomes a body corporate and enjoys immunity from certain civil suits.
In 2012, 15 new unions were registered, bringing the number of registered trade unions to 849, comprising 800 employee unions, 18 employers' associations and 31 mixed organisations of employees and employers. There are also eight registered trade union federations. Declared membership of employee unions over the past five years has remained at around 740,000. The trade union participation rate (the percentage of salaried employees and wage earners who are union members) was around 22 per cent over the same period.
About half of the employee unions are affiliated to four major labour organisations: the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (184 unions), the Hong Kong and Kowloon Trades Union. Council (28 unions), the Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions (74 unions), and the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (80 unions).
Minor Employment Claims Adjudication Board
The Minor Employment Claims Adjudication Board determines claims arising from disputes of statutory or contractual rights of employment that involve not more than 10 claimants in each case and for sums not exceeding $8,000 per claimant. In 2012, the board dealt with 1,561 claims and granted awards amounting to $3.08 million.
Labour Tribunal
The Labour Tribunal is part of the Judiciary and is a quick, inexpensive and informal channel for adjudicating labour disputes that are not within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Minor Employment Claims Adjudication Board. In 2012, some 4,744 cases were filed with the tribunal, of which 4,659 were initiated by employees and 85 by employers. Of these, 81.8 per cent were referred to the tribunal by the Labour Department's Labour Relations Division after unsuccessful conciliation attempts. The tribunal dealt with 4,245 cases and granted awards totalling more than $216 million, or 243 cases and $21 million more than in 2011.
Employees' Rights and Benefits
The Employment Ordinance provides for various employment-related benefits and entitlements to employees. Over and above the statutory requirements, employers and employees are free to negotiate the terms and conditions of employment.
Labour Conditions
In general, children under 15 are prohibited by law from taking up employment. Children aged between 13 and 14 may work in non-industrial establishments under strict rules, while young people in the 15-17 age group may work in industrial establishments, subject to restrictions on their working hours.
Labour inspectors conduct workplace inspections to ensure employers' compliance with laws safeguarding workers' rights and benefits, and that employers have employees' compensation
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