This article examines the weakness of Hong Kong unions at the workplace, focusing on the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (FTU). The FTU has adopted a more outward-looking approach to organizing, but some question the FTU's ability to balance the effective representation of workers with its association with the government, raising the question of whether the weakness of Hong Kong unions may be attributable to continued 'industrial pacifism'. The analysis suggests that the weakness of unions at the workplace may in some cases owe something to the policies of the unions, but that in general the causes of union weakness are rather more complex. In particular, management hostility towards unions makes it difficult for them to effectively represent their members, while employee apathy is a significant problem.
Bemmels, Brian
(1995) 'Dual Commitment: Unique Construct or Epiphenomenon'?Journal of Labor Research16(4): 401-422.
2.
Chiu, Stephen
and David A. Levin (1996) 'Prosperity without Industrial Democracy? Developments in Industrial Relations in Hong Kong since 1968', Industrial Relations Journal27(1): 24-37.
3.
Conlon, E.J.
and Daniel G. Gallagher (1987) 'Commitment to Employer and Union: Effects of Membership Status', Academy of Management Journal30: 151-162.
4.
England, Joe
(1989) Industrial Relations and Law in Hong Kong, 2nd edn.Oxford: Oxford University Press.
5.
Frenkel, Stephen
(ed.) (1993) Organized Labor in the Asia-Pacific Region. A Coinlparative Study of Trade Unionism in Nine Countries. New York: ILR Press.
6.
Gallagher, Daniel G.
(1984) 'The Relationship Between Organizational and Union Commitment Among Federal Government Employees'. Proc eedings of the Academy of Management: 319-323.
7.
Gordon, Michael E.
and Robert T. Ladd (1990) 'Dual Allegiance: Renewal, Reconsideration and Recantation', Personnel Psychology43: 37-39.
8.
Gordon, Michael E.
, John W. Philpot, Robert E. Burt, Cynthia A. Thompson and William E. Spiller (1980) 'Commitment to the Union: Development of a Measure and an Examination of its Correlates', Journal of Applied Psychology65(4): 479-499.
9.
Guest, David E.
and Philip Dewe (1991) 'Company or Trade Union: Which Wins Workers' Allegiance? A Study of Commitment in the UK Electronics Industry'. British Journal of Industrial Relations29(1): 75-96.
10.
Hiu, C. Harry
and Chen K. Tan (1996) 'Employee Motivation and Attitudes in the Chinese Workforce', pp. 364-378 in Michael H. Bond (ed.) The Handbook of Chinese Psychology. Hong Kong: Oxford University Press.
11.
Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions
(1988) 'Carry Forward the Fine Traditions, Open Up a New Prospect', the Executive Committee's Work Report delivered by Mr Cheng Yiu-tong at the 26th Session of the Federation's General Meeting, 24 April.
12.
IHRM (Hong Kong Institute of Human Resource Management)
(1995) Human Resource Management Practices in Hong Kong: Survey Report. Hong Kong: IHRM.
13.
Jones, Derek C.
(1995) 'Successor Unions in Transitional Economies: Evidence from St Petersburg', Industrial and Labor Relations Review49(1): 39-57.
14.
Kong, Tat-chi
(1988) 'The Strikes at the Mass Transit Railway', pp. 143-146 in Y.C. Jao, David A. Levin, Sek-hong Ng and Elizabeth Sinn (eds) Labour Movement in a Changing Society: The Experience of Hong Kong. Hong Kong: Centre of Asian Studies, University of Hong Kong.
15.
Law, Ping
(1988) 'White-Collar Unionism: The Case of Teachers', pp. 163-166 in Y.C. Jao, David A. Levin, Sek-hong Ng and Elizabeth Sinn (eds) Labour Movement in a Changing Society. The Experience of Hong Kong. Hong Kong: Centre of Asian Studies, University of Hong Kong.
16.
Lee, Chun-keung
(1994) 'Lao Zi Xie Shang Huo Dong (The Practice of Joint Consultation in Hong Kong)', Labour Relations Newsletter (Hong Kong Labour Department)35(December): 2-2.
17.
Leung, Benjamin K.P.
(1994) 'Social Inequality and Insurgency in Hong Kong', pp. 177-196 in Benjamin K.P. Leung and Teresa Y.C. Wong (eds) Twenty-five Years of Social and Economic Development in Hong Kong. Hong Kong: Centre of Asian Studies, University of Hong Kong.
18.
Leung, Benjamin K.P.
and Stephen Chiu (1991) A Social History of Industrial Strikes and the Labour Movement in Hong Kong, 1946-1989, Occasional Paper No. 3. Hong Kong: Social Sciences Research Centre/Department of Sociology, University of Hong Kong.
19.
Levin, David A.
and Stephen Chiu (1993) 'Dependent Capitalism, a Colonial State, and Marginal Unions: The Case of Hong Kong', pp. 187-222 in Stephen Frenkel (ed.) Organized Labor in the Asia-Pacific Region: A Comparative Study of Trade Unionism in Nine Countries. New York: ILR Press.
20.
Levin, David A.
and Sek-hong Ng (1995) 'From an Industrial to a Post-Industrial Economy: Challenges for Human Resource Management in Hong Kong', pp. 119-157 in A. Verma, T.A. Kochan and R.D. Lansbury (eds) Employment Relations in the Growing Asian Economies. London: Routledge.
21.
Magenau, John M.
, James E. Martin and Melanie M. Peterson (1988) 'Dual and Unilateral Commitment among Stewards and Rank-and-File Members', Academy of Management Journal31(2): 359-376.
22.
Mak, H.W.
(1988) 'White-Collar Unionism: The Case of Social Workers', pp. 167-174 in Y.C. Jao, David A. Levin, Sek-hong Ng and Elizabeth Sinn (eds) Labour Movement in a Changing Society: The Experience of Hong Kong. Hong Kong: Centre of Asian Studies, University of Hong Kong.
23.
Martin, James E.
and Melanie M. Peterson (1987) 'Two-Tier Wage Structures: Implications for Equity Theory', Academy of Management Journal30(2): 297-315.
24.
Ng Sek-hong
(1984) 'Where are Trade Unions Destined to Be?', The Hongkong Manager May: 19-22.
25.
Ng, S.H.
and S.M. Cheng (1993) 'Transition to More Co-Operative and Consensual Patterns of Labour-Management Relations: Singapore and Hong Kong Compared', Asia Pacific Journal of Management10(2): 213-227.
26.
Olson, Mancur
(1965) The Logic of Collective Action: Public Goods and the Theory of Groups. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
27.
Snape, E.
and A.W. Chan (1997) 'Whither Hong Kong's Unions? Autonomous Trade Unionism or Classic Dualism', British Journal of Industrial Relations35(1): 39-63.
28.
Stagner, R.
(1954) 'Dual Allegiance as a Problem in Modern Society', Personnel Psychology7: 41-47.
29.
Sverke, Magnus
and Anders Sjoberg (1994) 'Dual Commitment to Company and Union in Sweden: An Examination of Predictors and Taxonomic Split Methods', Economic and Industrial Democracy15: 531-564.
30.
Turner, H.A.
, Patricia Fosh, Margaret Gardner, Keith Hart, Richard Morris, Sek-hong Ng, Michael Quinlan and Dianne Yerbury (1980) The Last Colony. But Whose?Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
31.
Turner, H.A.
, Patricia Fosh and Sek-hong Ng (1991) Between Two Societies. Hong Kong Labour in Transition. Hong Kong: Centre of Asian Studies, University of Hong Kong.
32.
Wong, Thomas W.P.
and Tai-lok Liu (1994) 'Morality and Class Inequality', pp. 76-93 in Benjamin K.P. Leung and Teresa Y.C. Wong (eds) Twenty-five Years of Social and Economic Development in Hong Kong. Hong Kong: Centre of Asian Studies, University of Hong Kong.
33.
Yeung, Chi-kin
(1988) 'Joint Consultation, Collective Bargaining and Trade Union Recognition: Status and Prospect', pp. 54-66 in Y.C. Jao, David A. Levin, Sek-hong Ng and Elizabeth Sinn (eds) Labour Movement in a Changing Society: The Experience of Hong Kong. Hong Kong: Centre of Asian Studies, University of Hong Kong.
