TNAG-0231-FCO40-267-Conditions-of-employment-of-labour-force-in-Hong-Kong-1970 — Page 52

CODE 13-75

Reference..

Point : A recognition dispute is not materially different from any other industrial dispute, except that it is on a preliminary point of procedure. I think Mr. Gibson is drawing on his U.K. experience, and most of this does not apply to existing Hong Kong conditions.

Point 5: I think that funds for the training of trade-union officers can probably be made available. The difficulty, in practice, is to find suitable persons in the movement for whom it is worth while to provide training.

ence,

Point 6: This seems to be another point of current U.K. experi-

which has no obvious application to present Hong Kong conditions. Point 7: There is already a Labour Relations Service in the Hong Kong Labour Department, and formal legislation is not essential, though it might help if there were legislation giving the Commissioner of Labour power to enquire into any differences which might become indus- trial disputes. I believe that in the context of Hong Kong it might also be useful if the Commissioner were given powers to compel persons to appear in conciliation proceedings. In practice, these powers could be exercised, one hopes extremely rarely, only against a recal- citrant employer who aggravates a dispute by declining to appear.

Point 8: In the absence of collective agreements, this could have no current value. Registration is apt to imply that the authority receiving registration can do something about the collective agreements registered, but there is no indication that the Commissioner of Labour would have any powers.

Point 9: I see little prospect of the Government of Hong Kong, in its present mood, making any provision for grants or loans for trade- union development.

13. I think Mr. Hetherington's point about the introduction of some form of compulsory arbitration for essential industries is merely an acknowledgment that the old Colonial Office model legislation is being considered. I was not aware of any local enthusiasm for such legis- lation, and I know from personal experience that it is not obviously use- ful once workers have learnt how to circumvent their side of the obliga- tions imposed by it.

མཚན་བ

(DT. Goodwin)

10th September, 1970.