48
85.
13
As many as 90 of the workers' trade unions with an alleged membership of 59,510 are affiliated to the Hong Kong and Kowloon Trades Union Council, a society which is said to have Kuomintang sym- pathies and connections (see Appendix 3). Of the remaining unions 45 with a stated membership of 48,413 are affiliated to the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions which is an avowed Communist organisation in the closest touch with the Chinese Communist Party in Canton and is probably completely dominated by them (see Appendix 4).
86.
Among the unions affiliated to the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions are the following: -
The Hong Kong Government Waterworks
Chinese Employees' Union.
The Marine Department Chinese Employees' Union.
The Government, Armed Forces and Hospitals
Chinese Workers' Union
The Hong Kong Postal Workers' Union
These are unions of Government, servants although some of them are rather mixed.
87.
That a foreign political organisation should be in a position to dominate Government workers' trade unions is extremely undesirable and is certainly not in the public interest. In the event of trouble or unrest, however created, co-ordinated strike action and sabotage by such workers at the behest of the Federation, possibly for some Chinese political reason, could well assist, in bringing the Government of the Colony to a standstill. There is also the real danger, in the absence of any clear prohibition to the contrary, that other Government unions may affiliate to the Federation and be dominated by their leaders.
88,
Affiliated to the rival federation, The Hong Kong and Kowloon Trades Union Council, are the following: -
89.
*
The Hong Kong Urban Council Staff Association,
The Kowloon Sanitary Department Workers' General Union
Government servants stand in special relationship to the public and they enjoy special privileges not available to ordinary civilian employces. They can, if they so wish, appeal to the Governor of the Colony or even to the Secretary of State. The first duty of any Goverment servant is to give his undivided allegiance to the Government at all times and on all occasions when the Government has a claim upon his services. In his private life he must conduct himself in such a way that he does not bring discredit upon the service of which he is a member. In no circumstances must he make use of his official position, however lowly it may be, to further his personal interests and he must at all times ensure that he is beyond the reach of even suspicion of dishonesty or disloyalty.
.90.
I have accordingly embodied in the proposals I have made for amendments to the Trade Union and Trade Disputes Ordinance (see Appendix 7) a suggested how section dealing with membership of trade unions by Government servants. I have proposed that no Government servant should be a member of any trade union the membership of which is not confined exclusively to Government servants except with the specific consent of the Governor in Council. In present circumstances and having regard to the stage of development reached by the trade union movement in Hong Kong I do not consider such legislation in any way unreasonable and the acceptance of this proposal will facilitate the institution of a Joint Council and the eventual operation of Whitley Councils as recommended later in this report.
91.
With one or two notable exceptions very little is known about the 72 Employers Associations. It would seem however that, so far as the majority is concerned, the regulation and uniformity of terms and conditions of employment is regarded as a secondary matter.