the IUF, the HKCTU & Hong Kong1980-2005

香港職工會聯盟

國際食品農業酒店餐館飲食服務煙草暨同業工人聯會

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What is the IUF?

The IUF is a world-wide federation of trade unions representing workers employed in:

- agriculture and plantations; - the preparation and manufacture of food and beverages; - hotels, restaurants, catering and tourism services; and - all stages of tobacco processing.

It is composed of 336 organisations in 1�4 countries, representing an affiliated membership of 2.8 million workers. It is based in Geneva, Switzerland. Membership in the IUF is open to all democratic trade unions, regardless of ideological or political orientation.

The IUF’s guiding policy is international labour solidarity. We are committed to defending trade union rights and human rights in general, and the right of workers to control decisions affecting their lives at work and in society. We oppose all forms of exploitation and oppression.

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The Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU) plays a very important role today.

• It is the major independent trade union centre representing work-ers in Hong Kong;

• It provides leadership to workers and representation in the Legisla-tive Council;

• On July 1, �003, the HKCTU took a significant role in mobilizing as many as 500,000 in a march against the anti-democratic National Security Bill (Article �3). This mobilisation successfully led to the subsequent withdrawal of the bill by the government; the public march was the largest since the 1989 demonstration against the Tiananmen Massacre.

• It represents hope for workers in Hong Kong and a future to look toward;

• It is playing an important role in the region (especially in North-east Asia where it is linking up democratic and autonomous unions in Korea and Taiwan) and it speaks as one of the major voices of labour from Asia.

1Yet HKCTU was only founded in 1990;

2 A decade before that, the situation for workers was bleak even though for a number of years the Christian

香港職工會聯盟

This is a brief outline of the

IUF’s co-operation

with the Hong Kong Christian

Industrial Committee in the early

1980s, which played an important role in the

formation of the Hong Kong Confederation

of Trade Unions.

The HKCTU – How It All Began

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Industrial Committee (CIC) had been leading many joint struggles of active Hong Kong unions; the labour movement was without a centre for independent unions and was highly fragmented. Lau Chin Sek, then Director of CIC reflect-ing on that situation and looking to the future, said, “the pessimists believed that there was no hope; the optimists who believed that the transition period (reversion to China) was a golden opportunity to stimulate the development of inde-pendent trade unions and provide the local socio-political scene with new impetus.” Formal negotia-tions for the return of Hong Kong to China were going to start in 1982. The pessimists were everywhere, and the optimists were hard to find. Hong Kong unions that were not part of the two existing trade union centres, the HKTUC (Taipei/KMT controlled) and the HKFTU (Bei-jing/CCP controlled), were as many in numbers but they functioned largely as isolated unions or else were content mainly with their in-ternal and sectoral affairs and their

recreational activities. To intro-duce a new perspective, that is, to promote the building of a centre for unions committed to dynamism and autonomy from any political party, one had to overcome arguments derived from the weight of inertia, past failures, the spectre of repres-sion, the myths of Asian values and cultures. In addition, the question of whether that will merely lead to the creation of yet one more union centre had to be addressed.

HKCTU - How did it all begin?

3Starting just before 1982, against the background of a colonial legacy with its limitations on labour rights and the conditions of a Hong Kong just coming out of the Cultural Revolution in China which starkly demonstrated the dangers of an absence of human rights laws, the IUF searched for a way to make a contribution in Hong Kong.

4 1982: The high profile work of the CIC over many years in taking up labour grievances and issues which were not attended to prop-erly by unions had become widely known. From contacts and discus-sions made between IUF Regional Secretary Ma Wei Pin and CIC Director Lau Chin Sek (and af-ter the CIC checked out the IUF thoroughly) IUF and CIC started a two year project of trade union

Lau Chin Sek, director of the Hong Kong CIC from 1979 to 2005, addressing the 9th IUF A/P regional conference.

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education work through an IUF Hong Kong Education Office with Elisabeth Tang as the Executive Officer and with an annual budget of HK$60,000 (about US$8,500). Financial support came from LO-TCO (the joint council of national trade union centres in Sweden). This was the IUF’s first experience of working with an NGO in Asia. This project had to overcome three negatives: hardly anyone thought that support from Hong Kong trade unions in general could be forth-coming because of fear and intimi-dation in the political environment; or that HK unions could be serious and committed to the cause of independent unionism; lastly, hardly anyone thought that an independ-ent union centre, if organised, could survive beyond 1997 when Hong Kong was to revert to China.

51982-1984: during these two years, some Hong Kong unions started to engage in discussions about the nature and the work of trade un-ions in serving their members and

serving working people in general; they deepened their understanding of how unions work and the critical foundation of autonomy and inde-pendence, without which a union can have no future. The basic tools used in this education program were two booklets: the IUF Basic Education Handbook (currently known as the IUF Trade Union Handbook) and the LO/TCO Study Circle Handbook.

61984: after two years of work, CIC and IUF, in recognition of the impor-tance of education work, started to discuss setting up a Trade Union Education Centre (TUEC) by open-ing up the IUF Hong Kong Educa-tion Office to workers of all sectors and getting the co-operation of other International Trade Secretari-ats (ITSs, known today as Global Union Federations or GUFs). In April 1984, the TUEC was estab-lished, initially with IUF and CIC support only and working with 13 Hong Kong unions. At this time no other ITSs supported this work.

August 1988: Joint International Trade Secretariats and Hong Kong Independent Unions Conference “At the Crossroads.”

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Among the founding members (as listed in the adopted constitution) are the IUF Hong Kong Education Office and the HKCIC. All others in the list of founding members are Hong Kong trade unions.

71987: The ITF and the ITGLWF came in to work through TUEC to support Hong Kong unions in their respective sectors, i.e. transport and textile.

81988: As many of the other ITSs were still not involved in support-ing the TUEC, the IUF decided to have a meeting in Hong Kong in an endeavour to persuade all ITSs to support TUEC. The IUF, led by Dan Gallin (then General Secretary) invited all ITSs to meet in Hong Kong to discuss helping

Hong Kong unions. Only the ICEF (known today as ICEM) took up this invitation and Sachiko Tamai from the ICEF Tokyo Office, came.

9 1988: August: A conference, titled “At The Crossroads” was held involving the Hong Kong independ-ent union movement and some ITSs. An Organising Committee headed by Elisabeth Tang (the IUF Education Officer) plus repre-sentatives from CIC, ITF, ITGLWF-TWARO, IUF and TUEC prepared the conference. Its purpose was to discuss the current situation and formulate future strategy vis-à-vis current political developments (i.e. the prospect of Hong Kong reverting back to China in 1997), to review the on-going trade union education and organising activities supported by the ITSs (in the case of IUF, since 1982); and thirdly to draw up a common strategy for de-veloping independent unionism for the future. (Four ITSs participated: IUF and ITF were represented by their respective regional secretary, Ma Wei Pin and Mohamed Hoda; ITGLWF-TWARO was represented by staff member, S Kandiah, and ICEF was represented by its local representative, Trini Leung).

10 1989: a. As a follow-up to the 1988 conference and a subsequent series of seminars and discus-sion, the Preparatory Committee

The Union of Hong Kong Post Office Employees (UPOE) organised a half day strike immediately following the June 4 Tiananmen massacre. Members of the UPOE marched from Causeway to the Peace Memorial in Central with flower wreaths. “We are Deeply Grieved.”

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of the HKCTU was formed on Dec 1, 1989, representing a total mem-bership of 80,000. Chairman and General Secretary of TUEC, Lee Kai Ming and Lau Chin Sek were elected as general secretary and chairman of HKCTU respectively. Michael Siu (chairman of the Postal union) was elected as Treasurer of the Preparatory Committee. b. June 4, 1989 – The Tiananmen Massacre was the tense back-drop to the emergence of the HKCTU. In the middle of April 1989, a demo-cratic movement led by students erupted in Beijing calling for an end to official profiteering and elimina-tion of corruption. Recognising that the students were voicing the feelings of the people, workers de-cided that they would not stand on the sidelines and decided to stand up to protect the students and to support the democratic movement. In the third week of April 1989, workers decided to form a work-ers’ organisation and launched the Workers Autonomous Federation (WAF- Beijing; to distinguished it from the WAFs of other cities

June 1989: Members of the Clothing Industry Workers General Union (CIWGU) at the Hong Kong Kai Tak Airport. The banner reads, “Welcome Lee Cheuk Yan, safely back to Hong Kong - CIWGU”

that sprung up as well, e.g. WAF Guangzhou). In response to the emergence of WAFs, there was a massive outpouring of support from the workers of Hong Kong who were among those who responded by donating money generously. Lee Cheuk Yan (a staff of CIC who later became Chief Executive of HKCTU) who was entrusted by the people of Hong Kong to bring their financial contributions to those who demonstrated at the Tiananmen Square including the students and the workers’ leaders, was arrested in Beijing and had funds on him

“6.4 We will not forget” Union of Hong Kong

Post Office Employees’ Memorial March for the

victims of the Tiananmen Massacre.

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seized. His face photographed upon his arrest was splashed across all the newspapers in Hong Kong and this electrified all Hong Kong workers.

c. The other major factor that crys-tallised the minds of Hong Kong workers was the prospect of a 1997 reversion to China. Negotiations between the British and the Chi-nese governments for the return of Hong Kong to China formally began in 1982, were completed in 1984 and ratified in 1985. The outcome left the prospects for human rights and democratic institutions vulner-able.

d. These two factors greatly in-duced anxiety about civil liberties and human rights and the need for an independent trade union centre.

111990 July – HKCTU was formally inaugurated with �1 independ-ent unions representing 100,000

workers against the dramatic back drop of the June 4, 1989 Tianan-men Massacre. Lee Kai Ming, Lau Chin Sek and Michael Siu were confirmed Chairman, General Sec-retary and Treasurer, respectively. Chairman Lau in his Opening ad-dress during the inaugural ceremo-ny, said, “the founding of the HKC-TU signifies that the Hong Kong independent unions after more than a decade of joint struggles, are now establishing our own federation in the hope to further our fights for labour rights, for the dignity and status which our workers deserve.” The IUF Regional Secretary said, “today, with the formation of the HKCTU, you have unfrozen the situation which was to a significant extent frozen since 1949. The de-velopment of the Hong Kong labour movement became sporadic and at times halted completely after 1949 when the CCP came into power in China. The powerful Hong Kong trade unions that were controlled by the CCP or the KMT became

July 2003: “HKCTU: Workers Against 23” members of HKCTU unions participating in the half-million person protest against the anti-democratic National Security Bill (Article 23).

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largely converted into social and political clubs overnight. Thereaf-ter, except for brief spurts of work-ers militancy in the 50s and the 60s, most Hong Kong unions had become instruments of political par-ties. Consequently, since 1949, the workers of Hong Kong had been largely without a voice or an instru-ment of their own. Their interests went largely undefended; and their vulnerability to exploitation and bullying by authorities were all too clear. Today, with the inauguration of the HKCTU, the working people of Hong Kong have triumphed over their opponents i.e. those who rep-resent the interests of employers and the interests of authoritarian-ism, and have changed the face of HK society.” Lee Cheuk Yan was soon after elected as the full-time Chief Executive of HKCTU with the means provided by ICFTU. Early in 1990 as preparations for the launch of HKCTU was firming up, a Hong Kong delegation was sponsored by the ICFTU to make a trip to Europe to explain the HKCTU to major ICFTU affiliates. This represented the first involvement of the ICFTU with HKCTU; until this stage, the ICFTU had not been involved. This encounter convinced the ICFTU to extend support to HKCTU finally.

12 1990 – November: The IUF-A/P publication, Asian Food Worker, on its front page coverage of the inauguration of the HKCTU, de-

Ma Wei Pin, IUF Asia & Pacific Regional Secretary, “At the Crossroads” conference, August 1988.

Lee Cheuk Yan, 1st HKCTU Chief Executive, and Han Dong Fan, spokesperson for the Beijing Workers’ Autonomous Federation in 1989 and founder of China Labour Bulletin.

Yang Kyung Kyu, President of the Korean Public Service Union (front, left) and Elizabeth Tang, HKCTU Chief Executive (front, centre), Anti-WTO protests, Hong Kong, December 2005.

clared, “Neither East nor West, but from below where the Workers are, emerges”, the HKCTU.

13 After its founding, the HKCTU subsequently decided to estab-

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lish solidarity and mutual support links with the national trade union centres of the world and joined the ICFTU. The presence of the HKCTU in ICFTU showed up the HKTUC (a rival trade union centre supported by the KMT) which was, prior to the affiliation of HKCTU, the only affiliate of ICFTU in HK, to be hollow i.e. claiming to speak for a large number of workers that it did not really represent and lacking in independence.

14Just before the return of Hong Kong’s sovereignty to China, the IUF held its 9th Asia/Pacific Re-gional Conference in Hong Kong in February 1997. Among other things, this conference aimed at consolidating solidarity between IUF members and the workers of Hong Kong represented by the HKCTU. IUF affiliates at the Regional Conference unanimously resolved to maintain support for the work of the HKCTU in defending workers rights. Since July 1997, the HKCTU has become the first ever, major independent trade un-ion centre in China.

15The HKCTU’s emergence proved that workers, by their own effort, can influence their destiny and change the course of history (for more information of its present day activities, see the website: www.hkctu.org.hk). It also proves

This document was originally presented to the IUF Asia & Pacific Regional Committee

meeting, Hong Kong, 27-28 September 2005. It appears here in a slightly revised

form.

to so-called intellectuals that the demands of workers cannot be dismissed superciliously as crass “economism”. Hong Kong work-ers, as do workers everywhere in the world, are as mindful of de-mocracy and human rights as any other social class. Clearly, much more needs to be done to make the HKCTU realise its full potential in delivering the changes to which Hong Kong workers aspire. Cer-tainly, nothing is won forever. It is up to present generation of new leaders to protect the gains and to build upon it.

16 In terms of IUF’s role in the Asia/Pacific, its involvement in Hong Kong is but one example of the fact that the IUF does get engaged in politically difficult and highly repres-sive environments. Notwithstand-ing the difficulties, the IUF stands convinced that the emergence of independent and democratic unions in the region remains an unfinished business and that it is as certain as dawn.

Electronic Edition, May 2006

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Glossary

ITF: International Transport Workers Federation, global union federation for transport and related industry unions.

ITGLWF: International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers Federation, global union federation for clothing and related industry unions. (ITGLWF-TWARO: Asia and Pacific Regional Organisation of the ITGLWF).

ICEM: International Chemical, Energy and Mineworkers Federation, global union federation for energy and related industry unions.

ICFTU: International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, the international organisation for national trade union centres, headquartered in Brussels.

ICFTU-APRO: International Confederation of Free Trade Unions - Asia and Pacific Regional Organisation, regional organisation for ICFTU affiliates from Asia and the Pacific, headquartered in Singapore.

KMT: Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuo Min Tang 中國國民黨)

CCP: Chinese Communist Party (中國共産黨)

Web Links

• Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unionswww.hkctu.org.hk

• China Labour Bulletinwww.clb.org.hk

• International Hong Kong Liaison Office:www.ihlo.org

• IUFwww.iuf.org

• IUF Asia & Pacificwww.asianfoodworker.net

International Union of Food, Agriculture, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations (IUF)

International SecretariatRampe du Pont-Rouge, 8CH-1213 Petit-LancyGeneva, Switzerlandt. +41 22 793 2233 e. iuf@iuf.org w. www.iuf.org

IUF Asia & PacificLabor Council Building (Level 8, Room 5)377-383 Sussex St Sydney NSW 2000 Australiat. +61 2 9264 6409 e. iuf-asia@iuf.org w. www.asianfoodworker.net

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Front page: Workers from the IUF-affiliated Hotel Industry Employees General Union protesting against unfair employment practices, 18 May 2001 (source: HKCTU).