Trade Unions

Trade unions must be registered under the Trade Unions Ordinance,
which is administered by the Registrar of Trade Unions. Once registered,
a trade union becomes a body corporate and enjoys immunity from
certain civil suits.

During the year, 14 new unions were registered. At the end of the year,
there were 580 unions, comprising 538 employees' unions, 25 employers'
associations and 17 mixed organisations of employees and employers.

About half of the employees' unions are affiliated to one of the five major
labour organisations registered under the Societies Ordinance: the Hong
Kong Federation of Trade Unions (113 affiliated unions with about
245 700 members), the Hong Kong and Kowloon Trades Union Council
(66 unions, 28 200 members), the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade
Unions (39 unions, 88 300 members), the Federation of Hong Kong and
Kowloon Labour Unions (31 unions, 21 700 members) and the Federation
of Civil Service Unions (29 unions, 12 000 members).

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