TNAG-0570-FCO40-703-Planning-paper-on-Hong-Kong-1976 — Page 44

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In his

the grounds that such an appointee could bring wage earners' views to bear on the government process. In his meetings with both Committees the Governor has been unable to convince them of the undesirability of appointing members of what are, relatively, minor unions to the Council. This is consistent with his general view that LegCo members need to be people with wide experience of community affairs and of high quality since the Council has in effect certain executive functions; works very closely with the official side of the Government of most matters relating to the Colony's affairs; and therefore has much greater access to confidential information than, say, Members of Parliament. view LegCo is more analogous to a Cabinet, or body of Ministers, than to a Legislature on the Westminster model. Until there is representation from organised labour, or at least a personality recognized as a credible spokesman for the workers' interests, it would be difficult for the Secretary of State to convince the TUC and NEC that proper account is taken of working-class interests. If indeed no credible trades union personality can be found in Hong Kong, it would seem essential to appoint someone associated in the public mind with workers' interests in the near future and begin to prepare trade unionists, if necessary from the public service. unions, for eventual service on LegCo.

22. At the non-governmental level, a conspicuous feature of Hong Kong is the weakness and fragmentation of the trade union movement and the absence of collective bargaining on any significant scale. This is in part due to the fragmentation of industry: out of some 25,000 establishments in 1974 only 118 employed more than 500 people and no less than 15,000 employed less than 10. It is also in part due to differing political allegiances, with pro-Communist trade unions representing nearly three quarters of the total membership (231,000);

(231,000); pro-Taiwan unions representing 37,000 and politically non-aligned unions mainly in the public

sector representing 49,000.

Various attempts have been made by

the British and international trade union movements to stimulate

the growth of trade unionism and collective bargaining in Hong Kong

without success. Some of the failure is attributed by the TUC to unnecessary restrictions in the Hong Kong Trade Union Ordinance on such matters as federation of unions and the employment of paid

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