CONFIDENTIAL
機密
XCC(73)50
4
11
On the face of it, affiliations to overseas organisations which are overtly not organisations of workers or employers may seem less desirable. However, the only case of this nature that has arisen so far is the affiliation of the Hong Kong Employers' Federation to the Hong Kong Association (Hong Kong Branch) (registered locally under the Companies Ordinance), the parent body of which is incorporated as a limited company in the United Kingdom under the Companies Act 1948. Permission to affiliate and make contributions was granted in 1969. Although this particular affiliation is unobjectionable in itself, its existence could make it difficult to justify refusing, on this ground alone, an application from a worker's union for affiliation to an organisation that was overtly not an organisation of workers. However, it seems unlikely that this problem will arise in practice and again it is not proposed to depart from the existing policy of requiring the consent of the Governor in Council.
12
The type of situation which would appear to give rise to the greatest danger of undesirable influence on Hong Kong unions is that involving affiliation to an individual union established overseas, usually in the United Kingdom. The test generally applied in considering such cases has been to determine whether there would be any element of control by the outside body such as to place the Hong Kong union in a subordinate position to it. Despite this a number of unions based in the United Kingdom have been permitted from time to time to establish branches in Hong Kong for United Kingdom-based British employees working in Hong Kong and maintaining their established connnections with their United Kingdom unions. These Hong Kong unions are admittedly controlled by the parent United Kingdom unions but, providing the members' employers are also United Kingdom-based, little harm can be seen in this type of situation (there are two such branches at present and in each case the employer is Her Majesty's Government. See Annex A: 5, 11). However, where a branch seeks to extend the authority of overseas unions to Hong Kong by encouraging local employees to join or where some of its members are employed by Hong Kong based employers, then difficulties may be expected to arise in that such a union may seek to impose overseas standards which would not necessarily be applicable to Hong Kong conditions and could have a detrimental effect. One such case has already arisen in respect of the Hong Kong Branch of the Association of Scientific Technical and Managerial Staffs (ASTMS) which was registered and given permission to affiliate with, and to function under the control and rules of, its parent body in the United Kingdom. The members of this Branch were employed by the Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company which refused to recognise the Association.
CONFIDENTIAL
機密
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