Employees' Right to Organize

• Article 27 of the Basic Law guarantees that Hong Kong residents have freedom of association and the freedom to form and join trade unions.
• The Employment Ordinance (EO) provides that every employee has the rights:
• to be a member / an officer of a trade union registered under the Trade Unions Ordinance (TUO);
• to take part in activities of the trade union, to which the employee is a member / an officer, outside working hours or during working hours with the consent of the employer; and
• to associate with others for forming or applying for the registration of a trade union.
• The EO also provides that an employer shall not:
• prevent or deter an employee from exercising any of the above rights;
• dismiss, penalize or discriminate against an employee for exercising the above rights;
• make it a condition of employment that an employee must not exercise the above rights.