Workers’ Industrial Militancy and Dependency Upon the State: The Paradox of Industrial Relations in Hong Kong

Abstract

This article examines how industrial relations have evolved during the last 10 years since Hong Kong became a special administrative region (SAR) in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). There have been recent signs that Hong Kong workers may seek to more vigorously defend their collective interests and articulate their demands for protecting their wages and employment conditions. This was illustrated recently by an almost unprecedented case of worker militancy waged by the bar benders in a declining branch of the building and construction industry. This article examines the degree to which this case exemplifies the post-1997 industrial relations in Hong Kong, and suggests that the SAR administration should pay greater attention to the grassroot grievances among workers in Hong Kong.