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92.
While about half of the registered workers' trade unions is controlled by one or other of the Federations, the remainder, many of them being the smaller unions, have resisted domination. The most not- able example being the Chinese Engineers' Institute which was founded in 1908. This organisation is sound and well led, has tradition, and will not permit interference either from the right or the left. There are other sound organisations and freed from undesirable influence further good unions would develop.
93.
What recent history has not yet done is to provide reasons for real despair. Its dispiriting quality consists in des appointment to former high hopes of progressive advance.
940
In recent months there have been indications of the formation of new unions, particularly in the utilities industries, because of acute dissatisfaction of the members with organisations under the control of one of the Federations. It is not yet clear whether this movement is likely to gain momentum but its development is of interest. If break-away unions can be formed in this way and can develop as sound indeponent organisations, despite the active opposition of the Federations there is a hope that from this nucleus a sound independent trade union movement may eventuate, but its development is likely to be slow.
95*
There seems to be the usual tendency on the part of trade union members, almost inevitable in the Far East, to regard their union as a small group of officials whose business it is to decide policy and with the assistance of subscriptions, to secure higher rates of pay whenever such a course seems possible.
96.
It is very difficult to get the Chinese workers to realise that they constitute the trade union and that they are entitled to put forward their own ideas. They fail to realise as a rule, until it is too late, that in the event of an ill-considered strike, it is they and their wives and families who suffer and that even if they win some concessions it may take years of work at the new rates to offset the losses they sustained by withholding their labour. There is no simple or easy cure for this and unfortunately there are limits to what can be learned without experience,
97.
There have been disputes where no real effort towards a settlement appears to have been made by either side otherwise than by force. Many organisations of employers and workers fail to appreciate that until there is mutual respect, collective bargaining is unlikely to be a satisfactory method of settling terms and conditions of employ- ment. There is, in fact, some evidence that certain Chinese employers are afraid of their workers and seem to think that the inauguration of Works Committees or Joint Consultative machinery would give the workers some unfair advantage over them.
98.
Industrial grievances are in some instances very real and it is an unfortunate truism that strikes, which produce favourable results from the workers point of view, encourage further strikes.
99.
Many trade union leaders seem much too inclined to put forward demands, not always couched in polite language, backed by an actual or implied threat of strike action. While this is to be deprecated it must be realised that this attitude is quite in keeping with that of the delegates of the People's Republic of China at Lake Success whose notions of diplomacy appear to have consisted of curt demands stipulating complete surrender of the other side.
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