TNAG-0647-FCO40-795-Study-of-labour-relations-in-Hong-Kong-by-Professor-H-A-Turn-1977 — Page 97

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have a very high labour turnover

month

G

we were quoted instances of 5% a

and workers have been known to leave them in groups on report of

better wages elsewhere. Certain firms particularly those of

Shanghaiese origin are highly paternalistic, and make extensive social

provision (including housing, welfare services, educational grants, and

so on) for their employees. In both our surveys of employees (the

smaller 'pilot' one of factory workers, and the larger general survey)

about a quarter of those interviewed were attending vocational classes

outside working time; 40% of the younger factory workers were doing so,

which indicates a fairly high level of personal ambition, one would

think. The importance of the family as an economic unit and support is

shown by the fact that in our first survey the average size of the

household to which the factory workers interviewed belonged was 6, of

whom 3 were income-earners. And recent surveys by major employers'

organisations of workers' attitudes to the new legislation to provide

paid holidays and control young persons' overtime have shown a

distinctly negative attitude. We have considerable scepticism as to the

technical validity of this last evidence, but the general attitude was

confirmed by our own surveys: a distinct majority of our factory workers

and about half of our sample of all employees preferred more income to

statutory provision for more leisure.

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31. On the contrary side, it is also clear that employers' organisations

are much more extensive and effective in their coverage than the unions.

Although there is only one central employers' association proper, the

Employers' Federation of Hong Kong, which mainly represents British and

international firms claiming to employ about 10% of the workforce, two

other general associations, the Federation of Hong Kong Industries and

the Association of Chinese Manufacturers although primarily concerned

with business, industrial or commercial issues play some role in

labour affairs (having expressed themselves strongly and publicly on

recent labour legislation, for instance) and have a substantial coverage.

The FHKI claims firms employing 70% to 80% of the industrial workforce:

the CMA represents smaller firms in the main, but nevertheless has more

than 1900 members, including subsidiary associations as individuals.

(At least two of the Chambers of Commerce, the General and the American,

also play a role in labour affairs.) That a reluctance by workers to

take collective action was, at least, far from universal is suggested by

the occurrence of occasional large spontaneous stoppages (like that of

the shipyards in 1969/70, involving 5000 workers) in which no union

/appeared

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