TNAG-0650-FCO40-798-Study-of-labour-relations-in-Hong-Kong-by-Professor-H.-A.-Tu-1977 — Page 118

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6.254.

Again, preferences for routes to improvement remained

strongly collectivist, but in this (statistically) more representat-

+

ive group Government legislation was seen as equally preferred

with direct workplace representation through employee (or consultative

committees, two-thirds preferring one or the other. Only 13% -

again, a clearly smaller number than the proportion of trade

G

unionists saw much hope from collective bargaining.

55.

Attitudes to employers were, if anything, a little

more sceptical than amongst the factory workers alone, but those to

trade unions rather more definite. More than three-quarters knew

what unions were (at least, in general terms), and nearly half had

some direct acquaintance with them through work or personal

contacts. Considerably more people were prepared to express

definite opinions as to the desirability of unions in general;

and of these, two-thirds favoured them in principle. But again,

the proportion of people who said that unions should pursue

particularised activities exceeded that of ostensible union

supporters the chosen functions here being collective bargaining,

dealing with individual grievances, securing workers more say in the

Government generally, and providing union benefits. What was

particularly remarkable was that, of all employees interviewed,

some 8 said that if unions did do such things, then workers should

join them.

گارد

156.

There seems little, then, in the special nature of "Hong

Kong Man" which would have prevented the development of a normal

labour movement. Indeed, there are clearly needs and aspirations

among the workers of Hong Kong which are not met by existing labour

organisations, whose failure to act as a vehicle for the expression

of those needs accounts in large measure for the negative attitude

/workers