ENG-1953 — Page 47

HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT, 1953

Collective Agreements. In general there are many agree- ments in force, but as they do not all require annual renewal or amendment they are brought to the notice of the Labour Department only in the event of either party wishing to make alterations.

Reference was made in last year's report to an agreement between the management and workers of the I-Feng Enamelling Co. and this has worked more or less without hitch.

The agreement in the lithographic industry, which has been working smoothly for many years, was again renewed for a further year without alteration.

Labour Disputes and Stoppages. It is pleasant to be able to record that this year there have been few industrial disputes resulting in stoppage of work. This may in part be due to a shift in policy by the Federation of Trade Unions and its affiliates. There has been a marked stress on welfare activities rather than the acerbation of industrial disputes. A further reason is the very practical consideration that the overstocking of the labour market precludes direct action unless this is overwhelmingly supported.

During the early part of the year adverse business con- ditions forced some textile mills to reduce their staffs or close down altogether and as a result a number of disputes arose. In most cases gratuities were paid and there were no further developments. This was also true of the large cigarette manu- facturing firm, the British-American Tobacco Co. Ltd. which was on two occasions obliged to lay off workers because of the reduction in trade with China.

In June and July, crews of fishing junks came out on strike when junk masters attempted to reduce by 5% the shares of proceeds paid to crew members from the sale of fish. This, according to the junk masters, was forced on them because numerous typhoons had resulted in poor catches being landed

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