Original: 【這一場革命也許無人取勝，但請你留低一起作見證】, published on HKCTU’s Facebook page.
Author: 小薇, Education officer, ex-officer of the Construction Site Workers General Union, ex-member of Lingnan University Workers Concern Group
Translator: Grilled saury
Editor’s Note: This is the second in our series of translations of short letters and statements from members of HKCTU that were posted on their Facebook page upon the news of their disbandment on September 17, 2021 due to increasing repression and harassment from pro-Beijing media and the Hong Kong government. We share these translations here to preserve the history of the city’s progressive and independent unionism and to honor HKCTU’s decades of organizing and struggle to better the lives of Hong Kong workers.
“Can we not disband the union? It can’t just disappear like that!” This was the phone call I received from a worker that I had gotten to know through street outreach, a few hours after it was announced that CTU had started its dissolution process. I could not think of anything to say, so I stayed silent. Then, finally, I said, “Actually, I’d like to say the same thing. Can the union not be disbanded?”
I don’t share many others’ experiences of joining the labor movement through organizing with HKCTU. In fact, my journey with HKCTU began with my initial refusal to collaborate with it.
On orientation day in my first year in college, there were many different halls and society booths. I ended up going to an isolated corner and took a leaflet from the Lingnan Labor Concern Group about the situation of outsourced workers. At that time, I didn’t look into anything because I spent the first semester of my freshman year on the streets of Mongkok to partake in the Umbrella Movement. Later on, I felt disappointed about the end of the movement, and I was skeptical about its slogan “we will be back.” I wasn’t too optimistic that we could come back. However, I was not willing to allow it to end like that either.
It was still the era when we could join the executive committee of the Student Union, but the Umbrella Movement ushered in an ethos of collective resistance that invited broader civic participation beyond students alone. How did different groups in society link up in the first place though? At the time, I was reminded of that leaflet from the Labor Concern Group I had taken during orientation day, which presented an opportunity for me to branch out.
I remember that not long after I had joined the group, a CTU officer took the initiative to contact us. However, I did not want too much involvement with any “big organization.” Although we students at the time had little understanding of labor issues, we felt that it was important for us to understand the issues through praxis and to avoid relying too much on outdated methods that had limited us. This was why we felt a bit reluctant in the initial involvement of CTU.
We began to try our own way in building connections between students and workers. However, we found out that the connection was only limited to a certain space, and it did not work as intended. The issue of how to expand those connections became a question we had to think about at the time (and even now). At around the same time, we began to realize the importance of connecting other labor organizations and student organizations, and so we formed the Student Labor Action Coalition with student organizations from other institutions that also cared about labor issues. We also started to collaborate with CTU on various labor surveys, labor law classes, negotiations with the school, and so on.
After graduation, I ended up working as an organizer for CTU’s Construction Site Workers General Union. I’d always reminded myself: Do not be limited by any established frameworks; try your best to actualize what you want to do; it’s useless to only discuss theory; action is the most practical. In the three years of work in CTU, I have had numerous intense discussions (to put it nicely) around how to organize a strike, union organizing, participation during campaigns, referendums, and organizing work in the post-National Security Law era.
I don’t really like “big organizations,” and have often felt that I am boxed in by some things. But then I realized that it is not the organization itself that causes those limitations, but rather your willingness to break through those frameworks that you think are inhibiting you. Whether it is with a student group, any organization, or even the world, it is possible for me to do my best in practicing what I believe in regardless of the imposed limitations.
I have not succeeded in achieving particular victories during my four years in college or my three years in the labor union, but I have seen some workers I have gotten to know transform from being afraid to fight for their own rights to taking the initiative to voice their grievances to the company, choosing to sacrifice their own personal interests during the strike period and having all workers join together to fight against the company. The wave of new unions that broke out during the Anti-Extradition Bill Movement; the connection between different industries in the movement; the resistance of unions under the social gathering ban—all these are things that cannot be erased.
But “doing a good job of organizing workers and turning them into a major force of resistance” is a very romantic notion. Even with the examples cited above of successful efforts to transform the political or resistance consciousness of workers, there seems to be more failures than successes. I do not believe in overstating hope, and no one can ever guarantee success in the things that we do. You don’t have to force yourself to be optimistic and remain hopeful, but keep that anger, that unwillingness to accept resignation. What we can control is to hold on to our vision and do what we believe in courageously, no matter how dangerous the situation may be. An organization is fundamentally formed by people with a shared vision. Even if an organization is killed, as long as there are still people who continue to persist, no one will know what possible developments may come.
It is up to the General Assembly to decide whether the CTU can be disbanded or not. But no matter how bad the world becomes, can we all continue to walk together?
#TillOurNextReunion #TheEndingIsTheBeginningofEverything #TellingthestoriesofHongKongfromyouandI
#CTU #NotDisbanded #CTU30years
#Whenwillweback #hkctu30#SolidarityWithHKUnions #WeLoveFreedomInHK
「工盟可唔可以唔解散呀？唔可以咁就無咗嫁！」 這是宣布工盟啟動解散程序後，大約幾小時後收到一個街站相熟工友的電話。
除了沈默，我好像想不到應該說些什麼。但最後我還是開口說了句「其實我都會想講同一番說話。工盟可唔可以唔解散？」
我沒有像其他人故事一樣，是因為與工盟合作而參與「工運」，當初反而是拒絕與工盟合作作為開端。
Year 1 大學迎新日當日穿梭不同 Hall、Soc booth，最後我只走到某個被冷落的角落，拿了張嶺南勞工關注組講述外判工友狀況的傳單。但當時也沒有深究什麼，因為那年 Year 1 的第一個 Sem 都是在旺角街上渡過。後來對於運動的「結束」感到失落，亦對於 “We will be back” 感到疑惑。我沒有太樂觀地覺得，我們是可以回來的。但，卻不甘於就這樣結束。
那時還是能夠上學生會幹事會的年代，但一場運動的出現，所組成的抗爭群體，是更廣泛地不止於學生。但不同群體的扣連是如何發生？那時想起了那張勞關組的傳單，似乎那是一個連結的機會。
記得參與勞關組沒多久，便有職工盟幹事主動聯絡。但基於個人並不太想「大組織」介入太多。雖然當時作為學生的我們對於勞工議題也是一知半解，但覺得對議題的認識在於推動的人如何在實踐中理解是重為重要的，也避免太依賴過往的舊方法局限了自己，所以初時對職工盟的介入，是有點抗拒的。
我們開始嘗試用自己的方法，建立學生與工友之間的連結。但實踐過程發現連結只局限於某一空間，它是無沒法發揮其作用。如何擴大連結就成為當時（甚至現在）需要思考的問題。又在那時開始，覺得連結其他勞工團體以及學生組織的重要，因此與其他院校同樣關注勞工議題的學生團體組成「工學同行」。亦開始與職工盟合作不同的勞動調查、勞工法例班、與學校談判等等。
畢業後，最終也是到職工盟任職地盤工會組織幹事。一直對於自己的提醒是：不要被既有框架所限制，盡量把自己想嘗試的東西做出來，紙上談兵沒有用，行動才是最實際。
在這工作三年，激烈辦論（好聽一點的形容）應該是無數次。對於如何搞工潮；組織工會；運動期間的參與；公投；後國安法下的組織工作等。
自己並不十分喜歡「大組織」，總覺得會被框住了一些東西。但後來發現本來被框的從來不是組織本身，而是你願不願意衝破那些你以為框死你的框架。不論是學生組織或是任何的機構，甚至，對於世界，不理框架所限制，盡力去實踐所相信的理念，是我能所做的事。
大學四年關注勞工議題或三年工盟工作，沒成功爭取到什麼，但看到一些認識的工友由初時不敢為自己權益爭取轉化成主動向公司反映；工潮時期選擇犧牲自己個人利益，所有工友齊上齊落對抗公司；於運動期間爆發的新工會浪潮；不同行業於運動中的連結；限聚令下的工會抗爭，這些都是不能被淹沒的東西。
但「做好組織工人的工作，轉化成重要抗爭力量」是很浪漫的說法。就算是上面列舉一些能夠成功轉化工友政治意識或反抗意識的例子，但失敗的經驗似乎比成功的多。
自己並不會販賣希望從來沒有人能夠保證所做的事必然會成功。不必迫自己樂觀地保持希望，但卻請繼續保持那種憤怒、不甘心。我們能控制的是抱著理念，即使形勢有多險惡，都勇敢地做所相信的事。
本來組織就是由一群共同理念的人所組成，即使殺掉了一個組織，只要仍然有人存在，沒有人會知那個故事最終可演變成什麼。
工盟可不可以不解散，交由會員大會決定。但無論世界有多崩壞，可不可以我們都一起繼續走下去。
#Whenwillweback #hkctu30#SolidarityWithHKUnions #WeLoveFreedomInHK
