TNAG-0421-FCO40-467-Registration-of-merchant-shipping-in-Hong-Kong-1973 — Page 83

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There are three main seafarers' unions in Hong Kong: the Officers'

Guild, the Nationalist Union and the Communist Union. They have

estimated membership of 600, 2000 and 18,000 repectively. The

number of active seafarers in Hong Kong is estimated at around

30,000 so the degree of unionisation appears quite high. The

Director of Marine has been asked for his remarks on policy and

practice relating to consultations with the two sides of the industry

both in the past and for the future.

We have raised the matter of the possible amendment of the Hong

Kong Trade Union Registration Ordinance 'so as to have seafarers on

Hong Kong ships made eligible for union membership as if they were

Hong Kong residents. The Commissioner of Labour has said that any

move on this would have to come in the first instance from the

FCO in London, the technical point raised - i.e. whether a person

employed on a Hong Kong ship should be treated as if a Hong Kong

resident is the same as that raised by shipowners in the matter

of overcoming seafarers' apparently special disabilities in meeting

residence requirements for naturalisation in order to qualify for

Masters' Certificates. It therefore seems best to pursue the two

points together with the FCO on the Tean's return to the U.K.