ENG-1966 — Page 60

EMPLOYMENT

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Taking disputes over wage demands into account, the Concilia- tion Section of the Labour Department dealt with 2,595 disputes, of which 403 involved large wage claims. This compared with 305 in the previous year. There were a further 2,192 minor disputes compared with 1,762 in the previous year. Altogether there were 13 strikes and two lockouts, and the number of man-days lost in all disputes was 24,355 compared with 62,249 in 1965.

The Registry of Trade Unions administers the Trade Union Registration Ordinance 1961, which came into operation on 1st April 1962, replacing earlier legislation. The Registrar deals with applications for registration by new trade unions and trade union federations. He also registers alterations to rules, changes of name, amalgamations or dissolutions of registered unions, and has the power to cancel the registration of a union in certain circumstances.

All officers or members of registered trade unions must be persons ordinarily resident in Hong Kong and habitually engaged or em- ployed in a trade or occupation with which the trade union is directly concerned. No person may be an officer of a registered trade union if he has been convicted of any crime involving-fraud, dishonesty, extortion or membership of a triad society. Trade unions may have members under 21 years but no such member can hold office on a union executive; nor can he be a voting member of a trade union if he is under the age of 16.

No registered trade union may be a member of any trade union or other organization established outside Hong Kong except with the consent of the Governor in Council. Registered trade unions are immune from actions in tort when acting in contemplation or furtherance of a trade dispute. In a like manner, individuals acting in agreement or combination are given protection from the law relating to conspiracy and tort, provided that the act, if committed by one person, would not be punishable as a crime or not actionable if done without agreement or combination. Peaceful picketing is allowed, but violence, intimidation and watching or besetting are prohibited. Registered trade unions are deemed to be corporate bodies for all purposes. Two or more registered trade unions, irrespective of their trade or industry, may amalgamate, but member- ship of trade union federations is confined to registered trade unions within the same trade or industry.

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