China: the end of independent trade unionism in Hong Kong

The Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU) has disbanded, a move that comes shortly after the Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union (HKPTU), which was the largest trade union in Hong Kong, suffered the same fate. The HKCTU’s disbandment was decided on 17 September and was made official on 3 October, at a final extraordinary general meeting. It follows pressure from Beijing on civil society and trade unions and is further evidence of the process of dismantling that has been underway since the National Security Law of 2020 came into force.
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With the disbandment of the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU), the promise of independent trade unionism and three decades of labour rights struggles in Hong Kong have come to nothing. Amid pressure from the pro-Beijing press, which accused it of colluding with foreign forces, and after the hammer blow dealt by the dissolution of the powerful Hong Kong Professional Teachers’ Union (HKPTU) in August – its largest member in terms of numbers – the HKCTU disbanded on 3 October at...

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