Women’’s Empower, Gender Equality and Labour Rights: Transforming the Terrain
Feminist and labour
movements in HK: critical
and co-constructive
Sally Choi
Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions
2013-7-30, San Paulo
About myself
Feminist
Labour
activist
outline
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The story of a founder, Ms.Yim of working
women association
Insights: Critical voices from women’s
leaders and the movement
The recent campaign against sexual violence
at workplace
Insights: cooperation between feminist
movement and the trade union.
Transforming the terrains: internal and
external support; individual and collective
leadership
YIM YUET LIN
•
1989 found Hong
Kong Women
Workers Association
(HKWWA)—1st
organisation for the
rights of women
worker
A book project for the
15th anniversary of
HKWWA
“Factory, Kitchen and
Refuse Room: 15 years
of Women Workers
Movement in HK”
Unions development Before
1970s
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Before the 1970s,
unions in HK
pro-Chinese
Community Party
(CCP) unions (the
leftist),
pro-Kuomintang
unions (the ruling
party of Taiwan at
the time, also known
as the rightist unions)
some unions with a
neutral background
(such as the civil
servants’ unions).
Yim was an electronic
factory worker
Rise of social movement in
1980s
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1974 a church based
organisation HK
Christian Industrial
Committee (HKCIC)
started intervening
labour disputes
1984, HKCIC-Trade
union education center
1984, Association for the
Advancement of
Feminism (AAF) set up

Yim joined HKCIC and
AAF study groups
worker
activist
Conflicts on maternity leave
Cannot unit
all
the
• Yim left HKCIC
workers
Not the top
priority for
advocacy
among alliance
of labour
activists
1982
Amendment on Employment Ordinance
in HK
 2/3 paid for 10 weeks maternity leave

Mid 1980s
HKWWA 1989-Concerning the rights
of causal workers
which are majority
women workers
Mother’s Day action:
Caring support and
subsidies for workers
Yim-Women worker leader
- strong fighter
 - transforming the labour rights advocacy
 - transforming the union movement

Women specific
union/organisation
The reproductive role and contribution of
women workers were not well
recognised even among unionists in early
days.
 The base and voices of women workers’
association are small but critical.
 gender specific labour issues and create
social discourse

Self-organizing>Cooperation -> Alliance
building
Women self-organised
HKCTUwomen
committee
AAF
Hong Kong
Women’s
Coalition on
Equal
Opportunities
(1995)
Other
women’s
groups
HKWWA
Campaign again
Violence against Women at
workplace
Loophole in the Law
Sex Discrimination Ordinance in 1995
(SDO) prohibit sexual harassment
 No clause in SDO to prohibit customer
conduct sexual harassment against service,
goods and facilities providers
 Employees at service, retail industry
are not protected by SDO !

A SURVEY ON SEXUAL
VIOLENCE AGAINST
WOMEN AT WORKPLACE
IN 2013
80 % female workers in
catering industry
encountered sexual
harassment at
workplace
Sexual violence issuse for DWs
Outcomes
- reform in legislation in 2014
 - public attention
 - women’s issues to social issues
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Alliance Building
Women’s solidarity and
capacity building
provides more opportunities for
leadership growth and support for female
unionists who committed to integrate
gender equality at labour movement.
 External supports to women unionist in
federation
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Factors affecting women’s situation
and ongoing battle
Lack of working hours regulation
 Collective bargaining
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Alliance Building for the rights
of part-time workers
Employment Ordinance only cover those with “continuous employment” i.e.
being employed for 4 or more consecutive weeks and each week working for
18 or more hours (4-1-18). There is an ongoing campaign to amend the law so
to cover part-time and causal workers.