ENG-1984 — Page 145

EMPLOYMENT

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Trade Unions

Trade unions in Hong Kong must be registered under the Trade Unions Ordinance administered by the Registrar of Trade Unions. Once registered, they are corporate bodies and enjoy immunity from certain civil suits.

During the year, eight new unions were registered; three of these were formed by civil servants. At the end of the year, there were a total of 432 unions comprising 383 employees' unions with about 351 820 members, 33 merchants' or employers' organisations with some 3 190 members, 15 mixed organisations of employees and employers with about 26 290 members and a trade union federation of three employees' unions.

About half of the employees unions are either affiliated to, or associated with, one of the two local societies registered under the Societies Ordinance - the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions and the Hong Kong and Kowloon Trades Union Council.

The Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions, which supports the policies of the govern- ment of the People's Republic of China, has 73 affiliated unions with about 168 280 members. A further 17 unions are friendly towards this federation and they have about 19 680 members. The affiliated and associated unions are concentrated in shipyards, textile mills, public transport, public utilities and the printing and carpentry trades.

The Hong Kong and Kowloon Trades Union Council supports the policies of the authorities in Taiwan and is affiliated with the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions. It has 71 affiliated unions with a membership of about 35 700 and seven associated unions with some 810 members. These unions are mainly in the catering and building trades.

The remaining 216 employees' unions are politically independent and have a membership of about 127 350, mostly drawn from the Civil Service and the teaching profession.

Labour Administration and Services

The Labour Department has an establishment of 1 651 and its services continue to expand. Branch offices in the urban areas and the New Territories deal promptly with labour matters raised by local employers and employees. The Commissioner for Labour is the principal adviser to the government on labour affairs. He is also the Commissioner of Mines.

The department initiates labour legislation and ensures that Hong Kong's obligations under international labour conventions are observed. It is made up of 16 divisions: administration, air pollution control, development, information and public relations, employees' compensation, employment services, factory inspectorate, labour relations, mines, occupational health, pressure equipment, prosecutions, selective placement, staff training and development, women and young persons, and the youth employment advisory service and overseas employment service.

During the year, the Staff Training and Development Division organised two induction courses for 41 new recruits and 12 in-service training courses for 535 serving officers. In addition, a total of 29 officers were sent overseas for further training and in preparation for new areas of service to be provided to the public.

Labour Relations

The Labour Relations Ordinance provides machinery for special conciliation, voluntary arbitration and boards of enquiry for settling trade disputes that cannot be resolved through ordinary conciliation.

In 1984, 147 trade disputes were handled by the conciliation service provided by the Labour Relations Service of the Labour Department. These disputes led to 11 work