154
'There will be hard negotiations. But we do not believe in voting. It is not a good way as it would create a split among directors. If you and I were in the minority, it was human nature for us to find faults [with the majority]. If we could not compromise, we would leave it to next week. Within three or four months, we were bound to have a solution. Not everybody would be happy at the end, but at least there is no bitterness.'
The specific method of reaching a compromise might vary from mill to mill, but the direct confrontation integral to the voting process was generally avoided. The emphasis was on persuasion, or as A22 expressed it, 'it is always one party educating the other'.
Thus far, the spinners were only reacting to the general idea of dissent and conflict. To make the discussion more concrete, I raised the issue of trade unionism. They were given the following alternatives to show their preferences: there is no need for employees to form unions when management implements fair policies; it is the workers' right to organize themselves; or that joint consultation between management and labour is necessary for workers' opinions to be heard. Table 6 indicates that two-thirds of them preferred some form of joint consultation. Their justification for this preference was two-fold. First and foremost, it was because 'pure, independent, innocent labour unions' were not to be found in Hong Kong. This argument had some factual basis. Many unions in the Colony were politically motivated and owed allegiance to either the People's Republic of China or the
Choice Number Percentage Unions not needed 3 9 Workers' right to organize 5 16 Joint consultation desirable 24 85 No answer 3 TOTAL 35 100Source: Interviews, 1978.
154
'There will be hard negotiations. But we do not believe in voting. It is not a good way as it would create a split among directors. If you and I were in the minority, it was human nature for us to find faults [with the majority]. If we could not compromise, we would leave it to next week. Within three or four months, we were bound to have a solution. Not everybody would be happy at the end, but at least there is no bitterness."
The specific method of reaching a compromise might vary from mill to mill, but the direct confrontation integral to the voting process was generally avoided. The emphasis was on persuasion, or as A22 expressed it, 'it is always one party educating the other'.
Thus far, the spinners were only reacting to the general idea of dissent and conflict. To make the discussion more concrete, I raised the issue of trade unionism. They were given the following alternatives to show their preferences: there is no need for employees to form unions when management implements fair policies; it is the workers' right to organize themselves; or that joint consultation between management and labour is necessary for workers' opinions to be heard. Table 6 indicates that two-thirds of them preferred some form of joint consultation. Their justification for this preference was two fold. First and foremost, it was because 'pure, independent, innocent labour unions' were not to be found in Hong Kong. This argument had some factual basis. Many unions in the Colony were politically motivated and owed allegiance to either the People's Republic of China or the
Choice
Table 6: Hong Kong Cotton Spinners' Attitude Toward Trade Unions
Number
Percentage
Unions not needed
3
9
Workers' right to organize
5
16
Joint consultation desirable
24
85
No answer
3
TOTAL
35
100
Source: Interviews, 1978.
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