Clayton, David William orcid.org/0000-0002-8470-0906 (2021) Conflict and Conciliation: Industrial Relations in an industrialising Hong Kong, circa 1946-1960. Labor history. pp. 470-488. ISSN 0023-656X
Abstract
To what extent did authoritarian regimes in Asia repress labour activism during a period of catch-up industrialisation? This article addresses this question by examining the case study of Hong Kong, an unreformed colonial polity that experienced rapid export-orientated industrialisation in the 1950s. It shows that the colonial administration in Hong Kong was not monolithic. Governors were politically-authoritarian and unsympathetic in attitude to working-class people but there were also officials responsible for the labour policy who were pluralistic in their views and operational procedures. Consequently, the colonial administration’s industrial relations strategy mixed paternalism, most notably the use of voluntary conciliation, and repression, including the ad hoc suppression of workplace violence, the systemic monitoring of radicals and the ad hoc use of compulsory arbitration. The article traces how this pragmatic hybrid strategy evolved in response to local Chinese labour activism and two transnational influences: the changing attitude of Chinese political movements towards the use of strikes and nudges by British governments.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2021 The Author(s). |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of York |
Academic Units: | The University of York > Faculty of Arts and Humanities (York) > History (York) |
Depositing User: | Pure (York) |
Date Deposited: | 11 Jan 2023 12:50 |
Last Modified: | 07 Feb 2025 00:28 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1080/0023656X.2021.1934424 |
Status: | Published |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1080/0023656X.2021.1934424 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:195177 |
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Description: Conflict and conciliation industrial relations in an industrialising Hong Kong ca 1946 1960
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