Posted on 09/10/2003 9:35:01 PM PDT by maui_hawaii
Wal-Mart has long battled to keep unions out of its stores in the US. Now, the world's largest retailer has picked the same fight in China.
The All-China Federation of Trade Unions, which oversees all workers' organisations in the country, says its efforts to establish unions in Wal-Mart outlets have been repeatedly rebuffed.
The federation says all companies, foreign and local, are required to establish a union, using funds from a 2 per cent levy on wages.
"Many times we have tried to talk to Wal-Mart about this, but they knock us back with excuses, like the boss is not in, and so on," said an official in Beijing.
Chinese unions have traditionally been an instrument for the Communist party to control workers, not a vehicle for agitation and strikes, which are almost never allowed.
The federation said about 90 per cent of foreign companies had co-operated in one form or another, and it would continue to press Wal-Mart.
Yuan Jizhong, another federation official, said the "Beijing party committee had paid great attention to this issue and had held special meetings about it".
Wal-Mart in the US said it was up to its Chinese employees, or "associates", and not the union federation, to request union recognition.
"The way the law works in China is: if the associates desire to have a union, they go to the company and request one," it said. "As far as we know, not one of our 15,000 associates has said they want one."
Wal-Mart has 27 stores in China. It signed a joint-venture agreement with Citic, a mainland utilities and financial group, in October to open shops in Shanghai and elsewhere on the booming east coast of China.
The establishment of the joint venture, East China Wal-Mart Stores, was an important strategic move for the US retailer, which had failed to win a foothold in the large but competitive Shanghai market, stronghold of Carrefour, the French retailer.
Oil is to Arabs as labor is to Red China.
Oil is to Arabs as labor is to Red China.
Oil is to Arabs as labor is to Red China.
Oil is to Arabs as labor is to Red China.
Oil is to Arabs as labor is to Red China.
Oil is to Arabs as labor is to Red China.
Oil is to Arabs as labor is to Red China.
Oil is to Arabs as labor is to Red China.
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