TNAG-0279-FCO40-315-Visit-of-Secretary-of-State-for-Foreign-and-Commonwealth-Aff-1970 — Page 109

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Hong Kong to advise on ways in which the labour and factory inspectorates can be strengthened and the law more effectively

administered.

6.

Trade Unions

With the exception of a small neutral and independent

segment, workers'

workers' unions are organised into two political

groups the Federation of Trade Unions (F.T.U.

communist

Although the number of unions

and Peking controlled) and the Trades Union Council (T.U.C.

Kuomintang dominated). sympathetic to the T.U.C. far exceeds those adhering to the F.T.U., both the declared and estimated paid up membership

figures of the T.U.C. are substantially lower.

The T.U.C.

is affiliated to the International Confederation of Frce

Trade Unions and the two international trade secretariats

the International Transport Workers Federation (I.T.F.) and the International Tailoring and Garment Workers Federation

(I.T.G.W.F.) have been active in Hong Kong.

7. Only occasionally do these two bodies (T.U.C. and F.T.U.)

and their constituent unions function as effective industrial

organisations and then never in concert since co-operation between the two is out of the question. They refuse in fact

to sit at the same table. Divided politically and further

separated by differences in dialect, the number of unions has grown beyond practical needs. All attempts to improve the

trade union structure have failed in spite of the Hong Kong

Government's efforts to promote trade union education, and the

efforts of some international trade union organisations.

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CONFIDENTIAL