ENG-1998 — Page 173

EMPLOYMENT

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During the year, 24 new unions were registered. At the end of the year, there were 599 unions, comprising 558 employees' unions, 25 employers' associations and 16 mixed organisations of employees and employers.

About half of the employees' unions are affiliated to the following five major labour organisations registered under the Societies Ordinance: the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (118 affiliated unions with about 270 000 members), the Hong Kong and Kowloon Trades Union Council (64 unions, 27 000 members), the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (43 unions, 94 000 members), the Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions (41 unions, 23 000 members) and the Federation of Civil Service Unions (22 unions, 10 000 members).

Labour Relations

In 1998, the Labour Relations Division of the Labour Department provided conciliation service in 337 trade disputes which involved eight work stoppages, resulting in a loss of 1 411.5 working days. The division also handled 30 204 claims for wages and other employment-related benefits or entitlements.

The Labour Relations Ordinance provides the machinery for mediation, special conciliation, voluntary arbitration and board of inquiry to settle trade disputes which cannot be resolved through ordinary conciliation.

The Labour Department promotes harmonious labour-management relations through a variety of activities such as conducting promotional visits and talks to individual establishments, employers' associations and trade unions; organising training courses, workshops, seminars and exhibitions; and disseminating information on labour legislation and a wide range of labour matters.

In April 1998, the Labour Department set up a new Workplace Consultation Promotion Unit to strengthen the promotion of effective communication, consultation and voluntary negotiation between employers and employees. To achieve this objective, the unit provides information to employers and employees through publications and mass media, organises promotional activities and assists employers to establish machinery for effective staff communication and voluntary negotiation.

The Labour Tribunal

The Labour Tribunal is part of the Judiciary and provides a quick, inexpensive and informal method of adjudicating various types of disputes between employees and employers which are not within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Minor Employment Claims Adjudication Board.

In 1998, the tribunal heard 849 cases involving employees as claimants and a further 23 cases initiated by employers. The presiding officers awarded more than $58 million. Of these cases, 96.6 per cent were referred by the Labour Relations Division. of the Labour Department after unsuccessful conciliation attempts.

Minor Employment Claims Adjudication Board

The Minor Employment Claims Adjudication Board adjudicates claims under the Employment Ordinance and in accordance with individual employment contracts.

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