Trade Union Law and the Proliferation of Trade Unions in Hong Kong

Abstract

Commentators, including the author, have argued that many of the reasons for the proliferation and survival of small unions in Australia can be traced to the law. In 1977, the author was called upon to consider not-dissimilar arguments in the context of a very different industrial relations system, namely, Hong Kong. Her findings indicated a number of reasons underlying the preference for small, particularistic unions - notwithstanding ample opportunity within the legal provisions for the union movement to achieve rationalisation if it chose to do so. The law was found to be permissive toward proliferation, but only in respect of federation could it be said to act as a possible constraint on rationalisation.