TNAG-0785-FCO40-989-Study-of-labour-relations-in-Hong-Kong-by-Professor-H-A-Turn-1978 — Page 150

16.

and invite an avalanche of claims from other groups. Yet in the absence

of a departmental machinery for wage adjustment, Heads of Department

may find themselves in the position of acting as de facto negotiators

with the CSB on behalf of their staff, who are pressing for salary and

wage increases through pay re-structuring.

Again, like the central level of staff relations, the departmental

system has no formal machinery for handling grievances. Thus, the

councils and committees cannot serve as vehicles for the first art-

iculation of grievances which might, if not ephemeral, be transferred

into-a-formal-grievance procedure.

Thus, apart from the onward transmission of pay issues to the CSB and

the settlement of relatively minor matters concerning training and

welfare, what the DCC's do provide is a forum where certain non-pay

issues can be dealt with which have not reached the proportions of a

major 'grievance'. Sometimes such issues are fairly significant: for

example, in the case of government workshops it appears that improvements

in working conditions have been accomplished by department and works or

office committees.

Yet the overall picture remains uneven. Many departmental heads made no

secret of their lack of enthusiasm for consultation. In addition, many

- staff exhibit no confidence in the capacity of council participation to

generate benefits and express no interest in the consultative process.

In the case of the Education Department, Consultative Council association

officials consider that since the departmental head determines the

constitution and agenda of the council, there is an absence of authentic

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