306. The two important and major trade disputes in the post- war era were the Engineers' Institute strike of 1947 and the Tramway strike of 1949. For the former there would seem to have been some justification and the workers gained substan- tially as a result of it.
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307. The Tramway strike had much less to commend it despite the handsome award of the Arbitration Tribunal. It was a wage dispute based on a demand for an increase in remuneration on the grounds of increased cost of living. There is little doubt that strike action was encouraged from without.
308. The Taxi strike of 1948, which was responsible for more than two thirds of the man-days lost in that year, started as a strike and then became a lock-out. It was eventually settled by a wage increase of 75 cents a day as against $3 claimed and only 50% of the strikers were re-engaged, the remainder being replaced.
309. The number of man-days lost by strike action each year since 1946 were as follows:
1945
87,049
1947
294,092
1948
74,948
1949
188,830
1950
57,126
310. No man-days were lost in the first two months of 1951. with a total population of over 2,000,000 people, about half of whom follow some gainful occupation, the number of disputes and the loss of working days cannot be regarded as high. On the contrary, in comparison with many other free and democratic countries they appear insignificant.
XVII. COURT OF INQUIRY LEGISLATION.
311. The Trade Union and Trade Disputes Ordinance No.8 of 1948 omits any provision for the setting up of Courts of Inquiry and the reason for this seems to be obscure. That such a provision is desirable in the legislation of any country is amply demonstrated by the number of countries which provide for Courts of Inquiry or similar bodies. The necessity for this additional legislation may not be readily apparent but in actual practice such a measure can be most useful.
312. Whenever an apparently insoluable deadlock is reached in negotiations between an employer and his workers it is seldom that either side is wholly right or entirely wrong. With a partisan press. as in Hong Kong all kinds of allegations are made and often the real points at issue become obscured.
313. The very fact that an independent and unbiased tribunal can produce, without delay, and if necessary piecemeal, a clear report pointing out in precise terms the errors and faults of both sides, whether to an apprehended or actual trade dispute, usually has the most salutary effect, particularly as such reports are given the widest publicity.
314. It will be found in practice that when this procedure hɛs been used once or twice, both employers' and workers' organisations will be much more inclined to settle their differences without undue delay or resort to drastic action. They will, in fact, be reluctant to risk the imposition of Yourt of Inquiry, especially in those parts of the world where "face" assumes as unusually high importance in the view of those most concerned.
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