TNAG-0649-FCO40-797-Study-of-labour-relations-in-Hong-Kong-by-Professor-H.-A.-Tu-1977 — Page 71

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Conclusion

Hong Kong is not a poverty-stricken under-developed country struggling towards industrialisation, rather it is a highly-developed industrialised state, providing rich rewards for commercial investors, many of them of international origin. Its workers are largely under- paid, under-represented and lacking the social safety

net afforded to workers in most industrialised states.

It is a position that demands action, in the interests of Hong Kong workers themselves, and also in the in- terests of workers internationally, both in industrial- ised and developing countries.

The action required to force change on the Colony can only be successful if Hong Kong's trade union structure is rationalised and strengthened. This, in turn, can only take place through legislation providing statutory trade union rights and an education programme designed to take advantage of any rights advanced.

In short, the future prospects and conditions of Hong Kong's workers will largely be dependent on the achieve- ment of effective trade unionism in the Colony.

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