TNAG-2151-FCO40-3070-Trade-unions-in-Hong-Kong-1990 — Page 22

THE UNION OF COMMUNICATION WORKERS

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Dear Mr Hurd

Inthe Legal Advisers.

I write to you regarding a situation which has developed in Hong Kong and which affects some of our colleagues in the appropriate Unions affiliated to the PTTI.

Those workers are pressing demands for a shortening of working hours from 48 hours per week to 44 per week, not an unreasonable demand in our opinion. After many years of procrastination by the Hong Kong Government, the workers held a sit-in outside the General Post Office on October 20th 1990. This resulted with the Postmaster General issuing a letter to the workers warning them that their actions "may invite the imposition of sanctions provided for under Civil Service Regulations and Article 16 of the Letters Patent". This is a veiled way of saying that the workers will be dismissed if they continue with their action. We consider this to be a violation of ILO Convention 151 Article 7 and 8.

We write to ask for your intervention in this matter particularly any action that you are able to take to get this threat withdrawn. It is surely in everybody's interest that industrial peace should be maintained in Hong Kong and we will greatly appreciate any actions that you are able to take in order to ensure this.

Yours sincerely

Tay Cloude

TONY CLARKE

Deputy General Secretary

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General Secretary: ALAN TUFFIN. Deputy General Secretary: TONY CLARKE

Assistant Secretaries: E. W. DUDLEY. MISS P. DWYER, P. GRACE. L. V. HEWITT, A. A. JOHNSON, H. J. JONES. MRS. M. MORRITT, MRS J. E. STONE Organising Secretary: D.G. HODGSON. General Treasurer: DEREK WALSH. Editor: J. JACQUES