9.
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(c) An undertaking by the Government to adhere
to any agreement which has been reached between the Official Side and the Staff. Side of the Senior Civil Service Council.
(a) An undertaking by the Government that where
agreement cannot be reached on certain matters after full and proper discussion in the Council, they may with the approval of the Governor be referred to an independent Committee of Inquiry.
(e). An undertaking by the Associations to be bound
by any decisions reached by agreement in the Council, and also by any recommendation of a Committee of inquiry to the extent that it is accepted by Government. In these circumstances decisions will be binding on members of the staff associations taking part, and also on
non-members.
(f) The recommendations of a Committee of Inquiry
(including recommendations concerning dates of implementation) will not be subject to further consultation.
However, the undertakings in paragraphs 8(c) and 8(e) and the recommendations in 8(f) above are constitutionally subject to any decisions. thereon by the Governor-in-Council, and/or the Legislative Council or its Finance Committee, whenever the Governor considers reference to any of these bodies is necessary. In matters not requiring such reference, the recommendations of the Committee of Inquiry (referred to in paragraph 8(f) ) will be adhered to, provided that they are acceptable to both the Government and all the Staff Associations concerned.
10.
Constitutional limitations place Governments in a special position as employers. This is, of course,not unique to hong kong, despite its rather unusual constitutional position, and it is doubtful if the term "collective bargaining" is always appropriate to Government service. Professor Turner makes a similar point on pages 132 - 133 of the paperback edition of his book "The Last Colony: But whose?".
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11.
In our recent comments on ILO Convention 151 sent to the Overseas Labour Adviser's Office on 22nd May 1980 Cour reference (5) in SS 151/3/5633/58 7 we have stated that we would have no objection to that Convention being applied to Hong Kong without modification on the understanding that the consultative arrangements described above meet the requirement of Article. 7 of that Convention which, as we read it, is identical to Article 4 of Convention 98.. You confirmed in your letter of 12th December 1980 reference LAG 214/4 that this understanding was correct.
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