Hong Kong lawmakers support new union laws, citing labour groups’ political acts during 2019 protests
Hong Kong Free Press
Hong Kong lawmakers have expressed support for tightening union laws, citing labour groups’ political acts during the “black-clad violence” of the 2019 protests and unrest.
Lawmakers discussed the government’s proposed amendments to the Trade Unions Ordinance at a Panel on Manpower meeting at the Legislative Council on Monday.
The amendments would bar those convicted of national security offences from serving in labour unions and require foreign funding to be vetted by the authorities.
During the meeting, lawmakers cited the surge in labour union registrations during the anti-extradition protests, when there were calls in the pro-democracy camp to unionise.
Protests erupted in June 2019 over a since-axed extradition bill. They escalated into sometimes violent displays of dissent against police behaviour, amid calls for democracy and anger over Beijing’s encroachment. Demonstrators demanded an independent probe into police conduct, amnesty for those arrested and a halt to the characterisation of protests as “riots.”
“During the black-clad violence, a lot of labour unions staged strikes that were unrelated to labour relations,” legislator Lam Chun-sing, chair of the pro-Beijing Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions, said in Cantonese. “They were political strikes to attack the government.”
“I hope these amendments can allow labour unions to remain true to their original intentions and better serve workers,” he added.
Aron Kwok, a lawmaker representing the labour functional constituency, said some people used their positions in labour unions to try to “infiltrate the system.”
Kwok – a member of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (FTU), the city’s largest pro-Beijing labour group – was referring to an earlier comment made by lawmaker Michael Luk. Luk – also an FTU member – pointed out in the meeting that labour union representatives could take up positions in the government’s Labour Advisory Board, the Election Committee and the Legislative Council.
“In [2019], we went from 900 unions to suddenly getting 4,000 registrations,” Kwok said in Cantonese. “Was everyone suddenly concerned about labour rights? If yes, I welcome that, but it’s a pity that they were hoping to use labour unions to infiltrate the Special Administrative Region’s system.”
Chris Sun, the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, thanked lawmakers for supporting the government’s proposal. He said that the amendments aimed to better allow the city to fulfil its responsibility of protecting national security.
‘Ulterior motives’
As part of the proposed amendments, those convicted of national security offences will be permanently barred from assuming office in a trade union or “serving as a promoter” for a union.
Trade unions will not be allowed to accept funds “provided by an external force” unless it is approved by the authorities. Funds that are approved cannot be used for legislative or other local elections.
The amendments also propose that trade unions be prohibited from becoming a “member of any political organisation or body of an external place.”
Trade unions, however, will still be allowed to be members of a “related organisation in a foreign country or… external place” per the current laws, but the authorities must be informed.
Hong Kong has 1,412 registered trade unions, as of the end of 2024.
From November 2019 to May 2020, the Labour Department’s Registry of Trade Unions received 4,386 trade union applications, some of which bore “ulterior motives of performing unlawful or defiant activities under the guise of trade unions,” according to a Legislative Council paper.
Of the 4,300-odd applications, 736 were registered, although 192 unions later de-registered.
The remaining 3,650 were withdrawn due to reasons including a failure to respond to the Registry of Trade Unions’ enquiries and failure to submit required information.
Since Beijing implemented a national security law in 2020, dozens of civil society groups – including labour unions – have disbanded.
Some of them were new unions set up during the protest, such as the Hospital Authority Employees Alliance, which called for Hong Kong to shut its border with mainland China during the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the Government Non-Civil Service Staff General Union, which organised a petition against the national security law.
The General Union of Hong Kong Speech Therapists, also founded in 2019, saw its registration revoked by the government after five members were charged with publishing seditious books.
Others, however, had a long history in the city, such as the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions and the Hong Kong Professional Teachers’ Union. The latter was founded in 1973 and represented over 90 per cent of the city’s educators.
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