Chapter 3 Labour Relations

In Hong Kong, employer and employee relations are largely premised on the stipulations of various pieces of labour laws, and the terms and conditions of employment agreed and entered into between the two parties. Employers and employees are free to form trade unions and participate in union activities. The objective of the Labour Relations Programme is to maintain and promote harmonious labour relations in establishments outside the government sector. We achieve this by:

• giving advice on matters relating to conditions of employment, requirements of relevant labour legislation, and good human resource management practices;
• providing voluntary conciliation service to help employers and employees resolve their employment claims and disputes;
• promoting understanding of labour laws and encouraging good human resource management practices;
• adjudicating minor employment claims speedily through the Minor Employment Claims Adjudication Board (MECAB); and
• registering trade unions and their rules, organising courses and conducting visits to trade unions to bring about sound and responsible trade union administration.

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

The EO sets the basic standard on the conditions of employment that establishments outside the government sector have to meet. The MWO establishes a Statutory Minimum Wage regime. The procedures for settling labour disputes in establishments outside the government sector are provided for in the LRO. The MECABO establishes the machinery known as the 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.

The Employment (Amendment) Bill 2017 was passed by the Legislative Council (LegCo) on 17 May 2018 and came into operation on 19 October 2018. Under the Amendment Ordinance, the Labour Tribunal can make an order for reinstatement or re-engagement as requested by an employee in a case of unreasonable and unlawful dismissal without the need to first secure the employer’s agreement if the Tribunal considers that the making of such an order is appropriate and practicable.

In June, we introduced the Employment (Amendment) Bill 2018 into the LegCo proposing to increase the statutory paternity leave from three days to five days. The bill was passed by the LegCo on 25 October 2018 and came into effect on 18 January 2019.

During the year, we also completed a review of statutory maternity leave (ML) and proposed to extend statutory ML under the EO from the current 10 weeks to 14 weeks. Under the proposal, employers could apply to the Government for reimbursement of the additional four weeks’ statutory ML pay (subject to a cap of $36,822 per employee). Both the Labour Advisory Board and the Panel on Manpower of the LegCo were in general supportive of the proposal. The Labour Department (LD) had commenced the preparation of the enabling legal instrument.

Our consultation and conciliation services are conducive to the sound record of industrial relations in Hong Kong. In 2018, the labour relations scene remained generally stable. We held 65 094 consultation meetings, and handled 13 691 claims and 90 labour disputes in the year. Over 70% of cases with conciliation service rendered were settled in the year. In 2018, the LD handled five strikes (including one strike which started in late 2017 and ended in early 2018). The average number of working days lost due to strike per thousand salaried employees and wage earners was 0.06, which was among the lowest in the world. (Figures 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6 and 3.7)

The LD runs nine industry-based tripartite committees, covering catering, cement and concrete, construction, hotel and tourism, logistics, printing, property management, retail and theatre industries, to promote tripartite dialogue and collaboration at the industry level with a view to fostering harmonious labour relations among employers, employees and the Government. These tripartite committees provide effective forums for members to discuss issues of common concern to their industries. Employment-related matters such as good human resource management, labour relations and employment situation of the industries, application of automation technology at the workplace as well as taking out employees’ compensation insurance were deliberated in the year.

To enhance public understanding of the EO and to promote good human resource management culture, the LD organised various promotional activities and published free publications covering different themes for employers, employees, human resources professionals and the public. Relevant information was also disseminated through the LD’s homepage and the media. In the year, six roving exhibitions were organised over the territory. The Good Employer Charter Ceremony was also staged to encourage employers of various trades and scales to adopt employee-oriented and progressive good human resource management practices. Furthermore, we widely publicised messages on good human resource management as well as statutory employees’ rights and protection through extensive network of employers’ associations and trade unions.

We organised a number of experience-sharing sessions and briefings and published newsletters regularly for members of 18 human resources managers’ clubs established in different trades. We also published newspaper articles and comic strips, and placed advertisements in public transport network and periodic journals of major employers’ associations and trade union federations, etc. to promote a culture on good human resource management and encourage employers to jointly cultivate a family-friendly working environment. In the year, we published a casebook on effective workplace communication to encourage employers and human resources personnel in all sectors to set up appropriate communication modes and mechanism having regard to the needs and circumstances of individual organisations. This will help foster cooperative and harmonious labour relations.

The MECAB 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.

In 2018, the MECAB recorded 607 claims amounting to $2,640,746 and concluded 622 claims with a total award of $1,611,001.

The Registry of Trade Unions (RTU) is responsible for administering the TUO and the Trade Union Registration Regulations. Its major areas of work include registering trade unions and their rules, examining trade unions’ annual statements of account and any other returns required by the law to be furnished to the RTU, organising courses on trade union legislation and fundamental trade union account management for trade unions and conducting visits to trade unions to facilitate trade unions to manage union affairs in accordance with the law and their respective rules.

In 2018, 13 new trade unions were registered, making up a cumulative total of 908 trade unions (comprising 846 employee unions, 13 employers’ associations, 38 mixed organisations of employees and employers and 11 trade union federations) registered under the TUO. Please refer to the following webpage for the key trade union statistics:
www.labour.gov.hk/eng/labour/content3.htm.

In the year, the RTU examined 806 annual statements of account and conducted 362 visits to trade unions with a view to promoting sound and responsible trade union administration. To facilitate trade union officers in acquiring knowledge of union legislation and management, the RTU organised four courses on trade union bookkeeping and trade union management and legislation.