HONG KONG DEPARTMENT STORES & COMMERCIAL STAFF GENERAL UNION

The Hong Kong Department Stores & Commercial Staff General Union was established on December 25, 1946. At that time, Hong Kong was full of desolation everywhere; few companies and shops had resumed business, and there were also few newly opened ones. Consequently, commercial employees had meager incomes while prices in society were extremely high, resulting in very difficult living conditions. In addition, practitioners were scattered and unorganized, leaving employees completely helpless when labor disputes occurred.

Therefore, under the strong demand for unity among the vast number of practitioners, our predecessors founded the union, which was then called the "Staff Mutual Aid Society." The union's premises consisted of only a small room, and it had just 318 members. From then on, commercial employees across Hong Kong had a center of unity. In 1948, the union's premises were relocated, and it was renamed the "Hong Kong and Kowloon Department Store Staff Union."

In 1952, due to the Korean War and the US embargo, all trades and professions in Hong Kong suffered from severe depression, and the situation of unemployment and underemployment among workers across Hong Kong was extremely serious. The most central problem facing the union at that time was how to care for unemployed employees and tide over the difficulties together. Between 1952 and 1954, the union immediately established a committee to handle unemployment issues and formed a sympathy group for unemployed members. It implemented ten major measures: raising unemployment relief and welfare funds, establishing unemployment medical subsidies, medical loans, unemployment loans, travel expenses for returning to home villages, lodging for the unemployed, subsidized meals for both the unemployed and the employed, and distributing sympathy rice on 12 occasions. In 1959, the Staff Union was reorganized into a Trade Union and joined the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (HKFTU), an organization for all workers in Hong Kong.

In 1982, the union founded its first amateur advanced study center. In 1985, Vice Chairman Tam Yiu-chung was elected as a member of the Legislative Council. In 1986, a massive business closure occurred in the industry, leaving over 700 employees suddenly without a livelihood. Finally, with the assistance of the union and through the efforts and unity of the employees, approximately 12 million dollars were recovered in total, and 70% of the employees were able to receive the full or nearly full compensation they deserved.

In 1989, the union changed its name to the Hong Kong Department Stores & Commercial Staff General Union to adapt to market and industry changes.

In 1995, Chan Yuen-han, the former Chairman of the union, was elected as a member of the Legislative Council. Today, the number of union members has exceeded 20,000.