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Last Updated: Sep 30, 2008 - 10:04:10 AM |
The world's leading foreign companies operating in China must unionise
by September 30 or face penalties says the country's official trade
union body, the All China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU).
The ACFTU predicts that by the end of the month, 80 per cent of the top
500 global corporations operating in China will have unions. The
200-million strong union body announced the organising directive in
June. At that time, less than half of the so-called "Fortune 500"
subsidiaries in China had recognised trade unions, compared with more
than 73 per cent for all foreign-owned firms in China. The Fortune 500
is a list published annually by Fortune magazine that ranks the top 500
US corporations according to their gross revenue.
Most recently IBM and Volvo announced that they would allow workers to
organise in their Chinese manufacturing operations. The two join other
multinationals such as Wal-Mart, Sony, Canon, FedEx, Intel, and Toyota,
many of whom actively oppose and undermine union organising at their
operations in other parts of the world.
Some see this as another positive step the government has taken to
improve conditions for workers. In January 2008 a new labour law
addressing the needs of contract workers went into effect limiting the
use of temporary labourers and forcing employers to put all work
contracts in writing. Sceptics however are concerned that while workers
have increasing rights on paper, enforcement of these rights and true
representation of workers' interests may still be years away.
Unions outside of the ACFTU are illegal and workers who have attempted
to organise independent unions have often paid dearly facing two to
three year sentences at forced labour camps or heavy jail time,
including life imprisonment.
While the real gains for workers remains to be seen, one thing is
clear- by 2009, China's labour movement will have grown enormously.
Source:Ocnus.net 2008
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