TNAG-0338-FCO40-374-Report-of-visits-of-Overseas-Labour-Adviser--G-Foggon--from--1972 — Page 24

CONFIDENTIAL

The King's highways are made for the use and convenience of the subjects.

There would be

none on the highways if every obstruction of the highways constituted a legal obstruction.'

The right to picket under the section is a legal right, and a person cannot be convicted of wilfully obstructing a highway if his acts are only done in the reasonable exercise of his rights. Thus, in Ferguson v. O'Gorman, an unsuccessful attempt was made to show that pickets were liable for conspiracy to commit the criminal offence of obstruction of the highway. If the right is carried out in a reasonable manner and with reasonable numbers, as in that case, no offence or tort will be committed by such obstruction as may be necessarily caused.

It

In

35. In the light of the foregoing, the existing instructions should, I think, be reviewed for the purpose of making it easier for a police officer involved in one of these troublesome cases to interpret the law with sensible discretion. particular, it should be made clear that 'obstruction' should not be too readily assumed or acted against; and that as with 'sit-ins' (which are clearly trespass) the situatior should if possible be handled in the first instance by the Department of Labour's officers. (It will be noted that in the recent 'occupation' of factories by workers in various parts of the United Kingdom, he police have not intervened so far to dislodge the trespassers.)

Staff Relations

36. The machinery for staff consultation in the Public Service of Hong Kong is described in Establishment Circular No 43/68 of 28 June 1968 and embodied in a detailed Agreement between the Hong Kong Government and the main Staff Associations. The essence of the Agreement is that 'Government undertakes not to make any considerable change in conditions of service which affect a considerable part of the Service as a whole, or of the members of one or more Staff Associations without prior consultation with the appropriate Association(s). For this purpose a Senior Civil Service Council has been set up and an undertaking given that effect will be given to any agreement reached between the Official and Staff Sides of the Council, subject of course to the overriding approval of the Legislature.

37.

These arrangements have worked reasonably well but difficulties have arisen recently which seem to stem more from personality problems than any defect in the machinery. The Staff Associations seek "full negotiating" rather than "consultative" status, but a more important contribution to making the Council more effective would be a settlement of inter-union differences on the Staff Side and agreement on who should fill the key post of Staff Side Secretary.

There seems more substance in the complaint that the Council and General Purposes Committee have not met for more than a year.

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CONFIDENTIAL