THURSDAY, MAY 13, 1982
IN HANDLING A DISPUTE, MR YEUNG ADDED, A CONCILIATION OFFICER HAD TO COLLECT THE FACTS OF. AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION TO. THE DISPUTE, ANALYSE THE FACTS AND OBTAIN A CLEAR PICTURE ABOUT POSSIBLE DEVELOPMENTS.
THE OFFICER MUST ALSO INFORM THE PARTIES OF ANY RELEVANT PROVISIONS OF THE LAW AND THE HUMAN ELEMENTS THAT WENT WITH THEM AND THEN RECOMMEND THE POSSIBLE WAYS OF OBTAINING AN AMICABLE SETTLEMENT.
ALTHOUGH GIVEN SOME STATUTORY BACKING BY THE LAW, THE OFFICER RELIED HEAVILY ON HIS OWN CONFIDENCE, DETERMINATION, PATIENCE, SKILL AND THE ABILITY TO COMMAND THE RESPECT OF BOTH PARTIES.
+IN SO DOING, WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO SOLVE A GOOD MANY PROBLEMS IN THE PAST, MR YEUNG NOTED.
AS REGARDS CONSULTATIONS, MR YEUNG SAID THE LRS OFFERED ADVICE ON THE LEGAL PROVISIONS IN REGARD TO SUCH MATTERS AS EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS, PAYMENT OF WAGES, REST DAYS, STATUTORY HOLIDAYS, DISMISSALS, LAY-OFFS AND REDUNDANCY.
THIS ADVISORY SERVICE WAS EXTENSIVELY USED BY EMPLOYERS AND EMPLOYEES AS INDICATED BY THE 226 384 CONSULTATIONS GIVEN LAST YEAR.
IN THE SAME YEAR, LRS HANDLED MORE THAN 300 COMPLAINTS OF ALL KINDS, WHICH REACHED IT BY TELEPHONE, LETTER, PERSONAL VISITS AND VIA THE MASS MEDIA.
TURNING TO PROMOTION OF BETTER LABOUR/MANAGEMENT RELATIONS, MR YEUNG SAID THIS WAS ACHIEVED THROUGH EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES SUCH AS TALKS, SEMINARS AND WORKSHOPS FOR EMPLOYERS AND EMPLOYEES AS WELL AS VISITS TO LARGER INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL ESTABLISHMENTS.
LAST YEAR, 48 TALKS WERE GIVEN AND 513 VISITS WERE MADE, IN ADDITION TO A SERIES OF FIVE WORKSHOPS AND A CONFERENCE WHICH WERE HELD IN FEBRUARY THIS YEAR.
SPEAKING OF ACHIEVEMENTS AND FRUSTRATIONS OF THE LRS,
MR YEUNG NOTED THAT RESULTS, BEING NOT ALWAYS TANGIBLE, COULD HARDLY BE QUANTIFIED.
EVEN WHEN RESULTS WERE APPARENT, THEY WERE NOT ALWAYS PUBLICISED BECAUSE THE SETTLEMENT OF A DISPUTE WAS NOT GIVEN THE SAME DEGREE OF PUBLICITY BY THE MEDIA AS THAT GIVEN TO THE OUTBREAK OF THE DISPUTE.
IN CONCLUSION, MR YEUNG SAID THE FACT THAT CONCILIATION WORK WAS NOT AN EASY, STRAIGHTFORWARD, PLEASANT AND ENVIABLE TASK WAS AN EXAMPLE OF FRUSTRATIONS TO THE LRS.
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