Comments on Mr Quinlan's
"A Report on Civil Service Unionism in Hong Kong"
General Remarks
We understand that at this stage the report is largely an uncritical presentation of data and personal views obtained by Mr Quinlan during his short stay in Hong Kong together with his preliminary reaction to such findings. It is a pity that many statements and observations in the report have not been cross checked with other interested parties. Had this been done, the report would have been more balanced.
2.
Presumably because of the time constraint,
Mr Quinlan has failed to put his findings in their proper historical, social and cultural setting. We think that the staff relations situation in the Civil Service must be described against the historical processes of change because we are very much in the middle of such a process.
3.
The report does not seem to have noted the special position of civil servants in the field of staff relations. As far as job security is concerned, they are already ahead of the game as compared with the working population in the private sector (particularly the lower income groups). Moreover, Civil Service unions, particularly in the Senior Civil Service Council, have a great advantage in operating from the inside of the organization in a way which private employees cannot.
4.
We find it difficult to differentiate between reportage and comments in the report. Explanations on official policy given by officers in the Civil Service Branch at interviews with Mr Quinlan seem to have been misunderstood or misinterpreted and they should not therefore be quoted. It would appear that different criteria have been used to analyse statements and attitudes of union leaders and those of Government officials.
Detailed comments on the report are given below and we hope that they may be of assistance in its finalization.
5.
Detailed Comments
Page Para
2
1
Comments
The sample of the survey is, perhaps uninten- tionally, biased towards the dissentient group with 30% of the sample belonging to PACT.
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.