TNAG-0786-FCO40-990-Policy-of-Government-of-Hong-Kong-on-labour-and-trade-union--1978 — Page 245

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On the other hand the total combined membership of unions affiliated or friendly to the right-wing Hong Kong and Kowloon Trades Union Council remained almost static in 1977 - - a slight increase of 0.4%. Other "independent" unions registered an increase of over 10% during 1977.

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A comprehensive table of employees' unions and employers' organisations, showing the position at 31st December 1977, is attached. You will wish to know that 25.4% of the labour force (salaried employees and wage earners only) in Hong Kong is unionised.

Communist Trade Unions

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When the Chairman of the HKFTU returned to Hong Kong in May 1978 after attending the Fifth National People's Congress in Peking, he instructed the communist trade unions in Hong Kong to develop and maintain good relations with management and to co-operate with officers of the Labour Department. He also stated that the primary aims of the communist trade unions should be the improvement of welfare work and the carrying out of united front work with a view to building up a broad base of support by the masses.

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Some recent events concerning communist unions which illustrate the implementation of this united front directive are worth mentioning. First, in February 1978 the Labour Department held a briefing seminar in one of its regional offices to help local trade unionists to understand the contents of the Government's Green Paper on social security development. Of the seven unions which participated, five were HKFTU-affiliated unions having a total declared membership of 27,665. (These five unions consist of printers, fitters and turners, department store employees, workers in "western style" employment, and machine-sewing and garment workers). The Chairman of three of these five unions were present at the seminar, asking reasonable questions and making sensible suggestions. Second, in May the Union of Wharf and Godown Workers, friendly to the HKFTU and hitherto militant towards the Labour Department, approached officers of the Labour Relations Service of the Labour Department and offered them, in what seemed to be a gesture of courtesy, admission tickets for the Exhibition of Archaeological Finds of the People's Republic of China which was being held here. This move was significant because such an approach would have been inconceivable until recently. Similar offers were made to Social Welfare Department officers and City District officers. Third, guests from both communist and non-communist industrial and commercial circles were also invited to Labour Day functions of communist unions. Fourth, a cocktail party for hotel management staff was held by the Union of Chinese Workers in Western Style Employment in June.

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