TNAG-0647-FCO40-795-Study-of-labour-relations-in-Hong-Kong-by-Professor-H-A-Turn-1977 — Page 119

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(3) The Government's own labour relations seem to me in

something of a mess and since the Government is

Hong Kong's biggest single employer and (as we previously

showed) a pace-setter for much of private employment,

this is important. I am aware that there are movements

both on the trade union and official sides to correct

certain deficiencies in the present situation. But I

K

am far from convinced that these will in fact produce

a solution or even necessarily an improvement. I.

would not like to comment further without more extensive

study (which I have arranged privately, but I hope will have the cooperation of the Civil Service Department);

but the role of the Government's own pay policy in

Hong Kong's labour relations is certainly more central

than it perhaps itself appreciates.

Ja

81. Very many people including over forty business, union and public organisations, nearly 150 companies and firms, and over 1000 individual

workers and employees, as well as many individual officials and

academies, have helped us with information, views and comment in our

study to date. We have, with very few exceptions, met very willing

cooperation in our enquiries and arrangements, which we gladly

acknowledge. We should particularly, however, like to express our

appreciation of the cooperation and facilities placed at our disposal

by the Labour Commissioner and his officers, by the Secretary for the

Civil Service and his staff, by the Bureau of Census and Statistics, by

the Centre of Asian Studies of the University of Hong Kong (on which we

were based) and HKU's Robert Black College, as well as by the Business

and Industrial Administration Department of the Hong Kong Polytechnic,

whose students (together with some from HKU) were released to act as

interviewers for us.

HA Turner

30 December 1976