TNAG-0647-FCO40-795-Study-of-labour-relations-in-Hong-Kong-by-Professor-H-A-Turn-1977 — Page 126

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immediate superiors and friends, a tendency which can occasionally

lead to a whole group quitting at once. Third, the Shanghainese

system (emulated by some other firms, including British) is to

construct an elaborate bonus scheme which rewards long service,

good attendance and draws on symbols of paternalistic responsibi-

lity (New Year handouts, credit and loans to favoured employees,

etc). More concretely, many employers run a form of non-contractual

profit-sharing scheme which again favours longer-term employees.

Fourth, incremental pay scales, gratuities and pension schemes are

the Western mode of encouraging employee stability. These

practices are adopted by many British and American firms, but it is

widely recognised that short-term rises in pay are more effective

than a long-term promise of a pension. Older employees will be

more influenced by this factor, but HK's wage labour force is on

the whole very young. Fifth, opportunities for promotion within a

large company's internal labour market are a most compelling force

for stabilisation in the office/commercial sector (see patterns of

mobility, below). Sixth, training specialised at the firm level,

limiting the trainees' employability elsewhere though it will be

made impossible by Knight's Apprenticeship Ordinance and it was

probably not very significant before. Seventh, hoarding of labour

through recessions the larger firms can do this, aided by the

work-force's willingness to share available work on a reduced time

basis. Employers' acceptance of longer-term responsibility for

workers (the non-contractual element of the wage contract) is a

powerful stimulus to labour commitment, particularly given the

refugee character of HK's workforce. Chinese employers know this

and try to keep on at least a core of experienced workers in bad

times. They are, however, prone to lay off women workers and

casuals.

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The general tendency seems to be towards decasualisation of

the labour market. Even 10 years ago sharp distinctions obtained

between long-term regular workers (Cheung-kung) who had some security

of employment and casual workers, both long-term and short-term

chung-saan-kung and saan-kung) who had virtually none. Now labour

recruitment is more stable and workers have generally greater

security of employment, if they wish to take advantage of it. Apart

from the micro-economic rationality of employers, this tendency has

been fostered by a growing consciousness of the rights of working