Annual Report 2003

In Hong Kong, terms and conditions of employment are negotiated freely between employers and employees and they largely form the basis of the relations between the two parties. Employees and employers in Hong Kong are also free to form and join trade unions, which are required to be registered under the Trade Unions Ordinance. The objective of the Labour Relations Programme is to maintain and promote harmonious labour relations in the non-government sector. We achieve this by:

The principal legislation administered by this programme area includes the Employment Ordinance (EO), the Labour Relations Ordinance, the Minor Employment Claims Adjudication Board Ordinance and the Trade Unions Ordinance (TUO).

With the provision of a comprehensive set of employment standards, the EO is the main piece of legislation governing conditions of employment in the non-government sector. The procedures of settling labour disputes in the non-government sector are provided in the Labour Relations Ordinance. The Minor Employment Claims Adjudication Board Ordinance establishes a machinery known as the Minor Employment Claims Adjudication Board (MECAB) to adjudicate minor employment claims when settlement cannot be achieved by conciliation. For the regulation of trade unions, the TUO provides a statutory framework for trade union registration and administration.

Some key indicators of work of the Labour Relations Programme Area are contained in Figure 3.1.

To promote tripartite collaboration at the industry level with a view to fostering harmonious labour relations, nine industry-based tripartite committees have been set up in the catering, construction, theatre, warehouse and cargo transport, property management, printing, hotel and tourism, cement and concrete as well as retail industries. These committees provide useful forums for representatives of employers, employees and the Government to discuss issues of common concern in these industries. Successful examples of such tripartite cooperation included the mapping out of enlightened human resources strategies by the respective committees to resolve labour relations issues arising from the outbreak of SARS, the continued vigorous promotion on the use of written employment contracts, and keeping of wage records for the construction industry as well as the clear promulgation of rest day arrangements for the catering industry.

Besides, a new leaflet titled "Harmonious Labour Relations through Tripartite Cooperation" was published for free distribution to the public. Its key messages were also widely publicised through the printed media.

To promote better public understanding of the Employment Ordinance and good labour management practices, various promotional activities such as seminars and talks were organised for employers, employees and human resource professionals. We also organised briefings for government bureaux/ departments, statutory bodies and representatives of service contractors. In addition, we staged special publicity campaigns to promote prior work arrangements in times of rainstorms and typhoons, and employment rights of foreign domestic helpers.

The Minor Employment Claims Adjudication Board provides a speedy, informal and inexpensive adjudication service to members of the public. It is empowered to determine employment claims involving not more than 10 claimants for a sum not exceeding $8,000 per claimant.

The Registry of Trade Unions promotes sound and responsible trade union administration, and is entrusted with the statutory duty to register trade unions, process and register their rules, and examine their annual audited statements of account to ensure that trade unions comply with the TUO.

As at the end of the year, there were 644 employee unions. In 2003, 29 new trade unions were registered while six trade unions were deregistered; making up a cumulative total of three registered trade union federations and 689 registered trade unions (comprising 644 employee unions, 23 employer unions and 22 mixed organisations of employees and employers). Please refer to the following webpage for the key trade union statistics: http://www.labour.gov.hk/eng/labour/content3.htm.

In the year, the Registry of Trade Unions examined 589 statements of account and conducted 364 inspection visits to trade unions to ensure that their administration and financial management were in compliance with the TUO. To facilitate trade union officers in acquiring knowledge of union law and management, the Registry organised five courses on trade union bookkeeping, auditing and provisions of the TUO.