China to pursue Wal-Mart and other foreign firms over staff unions - report
AFX News Limited
China to pursue Wal-Mart and other foreign firms over staff unions - report
07.06.2006, 03:21 AM
- BEIJING (XFN-ASIA) - Lawmakers in China are planning to take action against US retailing giant Wal-Mart and other foreign firms to force them to allow their staff to join a union, state press said.
Legislators are planning to change the law to force foreign-funded enterprises to establish branches of the Communist Party-run All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) within their companies, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
Wang Zhaoguo, ACFTU president and vice chairman of the National People's Congress, China's legislature, specifically cited Wal-Mart for failing to set up branches in its China stores.
'We started to push Wal-Mart to set up union branches two years ago, yet there is not a single one built (set up) so far,' Xinhua quoted Wang as saying.
'We will continue working on this.'
Wal-Mart has not established union branches because none of its employees has requested they be set up, as required in the law on trade unions, the report said.
'Many foreign companies, including Wal-Mart, have been taking advantage of this stipulation to obstruct the setting up of a union,' Xinhua said.
The dispute has been a long-running one and Wal-Mart said in 2004 that it would allow its staff to join unions while insisting then it had not broken any laws.
Wal-Mart spokespeople were not immediately available to comment.
According to China's trade union law, all employees have the right to join ACFTU, the country's only legal trade union.
However joining the union offers no guarantee for staff against exploitation, with the ACFTU often criticized by international labor rights groups for favoring business interests over workers' rights.
The nation's trade union law outlaws workers from forming independent unions or organizing collective bargaining activities outside the ACFTU.
Neither the Subscriber nor AFX News warrants the completeness or accuracy of the Service or the suitability of the Service as a trading aid and neither accepts any liability for losses howsoever incurred. The content on this site, including news, quotes, data and other information, is provided by AFX News and its third party content providers for your personal information only, and neither AFX News nor its third party content providers shall be liable for any errors, inaccuracies or delays in content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.
China to pursue Wal-Mart and other foreign firms over staff unions - report
07.06.2006, 03:21 AM
- BEIJING (XFN-ASIA) - Lawmakers in China are planning to take action against US retailing giant Wal-Mart and other foreign firms to force them to allow their staff to join a union, state press said.
Legislators are planning to change the law to force foreign-funded enterprises to establish branches of the Communist Party-run All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) within their companies, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
Wang Zhaoguo, ACFTU president and vice chairman of the National People's Congress, China's legislature, specifically cited Wal-Mart for failing to set up branches in its China stores.
'We started to push Wal-Mart to set up union branches two years ago, yet there is not a single one built (set up) so far,' Xinhua quoted Wang as saying.
'We will continue working on this.'
Wal-Mart has not established union branches because none of its employees has requested they be set up, as required in the law on trade unions, the report said.
'Many foreign companies, including Wal-Mart, have been taking advantage of this stipulation to obstruct the setting up of a union,' Xinhua said.
The dispute has been a long-running one and Wal-Mart said in 2004 that it would allow its staff to join unions while insisting then it had not broken any laws.
Wal-Mart spokespeople were not immediately available to comment.
According to China's trade union law, all employees have the right to join ACFTU, the country's only legal trade union.
However joining the union offers no guarantee for staff against exploitation, with the ACFTU often criticized by international labor rights groups for favoring business interests over workers' rights.
The nation's trade union law outlaws workers from forming independent unions or organizing collective bargaining activities outside the ACFTU.
Neither the Subscriber nor AFX News warrants the completeness or accuracy of the Service or the suitability of the Service as a trading aid and neither accepts any liability for losses howsoever incurred. The content on this site, including news, quotes, data and other information, is provided by AFX News and its third party content providers for your personal information only, and neither AFX News nor its third party content providers shall be liable for any errors, inaccuracies or delays in content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.
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