TNAG-0785-FCO40-989-Study-of-labour-relations-in-Hong-Kong-by-Professor-H-A-Turn-1978 — Page 134

STAFF RELATIONS IN THE HONG KONG CIVIL SERVICE

Staff Relations in the Hong Kong Civil Service are in a state of flux

after a history of relative quiescence. Union organization and activity

is gathering momentum against a background of renewed economic growth

following the 1973-4 recession. In the context of the Colony as a whole,

government employment is the only field where industrial relations are

"maturing" in the style of the advanced economies. Demands for union

recognition and negotiating rights place the management of senior civil

servants in a position where procedural reform is viewed as a more

attractive option than inertia. The problems of public sector pay deter-

mination familiar in the OECD economies are replicated in an economy in

transit from Third World' to 'First World' status, and are probably

exacerbated by the dominant free market orientation of the Colony's

commerce and industry.