CO129-626-3 Labour Department- report to Labour Commissioner 1-3-1951 - 30-6-1952 — Page 28

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Para, 7. Provisional or Probationary Registration:

There is a great deal in favour of some system of provisional or probationary registration, but I am doubtful whether it could now be introduced im Hong Kong. We already have more than 200 workers' unions registered. A great number of these are probably not fit for full -registration and would be improved if they were on a

probationary basis. The difficulty is to put the clock back, and I am sure that any attempt to do so in respect of unions which are already registered would give rise to grave dissatisfacti on which would undoubtedly be fomented into open unrest. On the other hand, to apply a system of probationary registration only to new unions would be regarded by the Chinese as a grave "loss of face" for the new unions and would almost certainly discourage their formation. If our present trade union organis ation was a healthy one, I should say that such discouragement might be a good thing, but in point of fact, since 80 many of our local unions are thoroughly unsatisfactory associations whose hold on their members is largely maintained by the exercise of political pressure, I should be most unwilling to discourage the emergence of break- away unions whose aims are in fact the improvement of the social and economic conditions of their members and who owe their origin to the dissatisfaction felt by a number of the more sober-minded workers to domination by a minority of political extremists.

If

During the course of the last 18 months there have been several such break-away unions and, although they are not at the moment numerically strong, I have hopes that in course of time they may achieve larger membership and become industrially more important. they can do this, there is no doubt that others will follow their example, but this will certainly not be the case if there is any suggestion of probationary registra- tion. So far as this Colony is comerned, I believe that

his problem could be better approached from the other end - namely, by giving to the Registrar powers, if at any time he is dissatisfied with the conduct of a union, to place that union under special supervision and to maintain such supervision until he is satisfied that the officials and members of the union can be trusted with greater freedom. Needless to say, I am not suggesting that the Registrar should intervene in the industrial activities of the union or attempt to influence in any way its policy vis-a-vis employers or the Government.

I am referring rather to those cases, which are unfortunately only too common, in which the und on abides neither by the provisions of the Trade Unions and Trade Disputes Ordinance