China to Press More Firms to Unionize
BEIJING -- China's main government-backed trade body will pressure more foreign companies to install unions after successfully organizing Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in China this year.
Guo Wencai, director general at the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, described the push yesterday as "another wave."
Among the companies on its new target list: Eastman Kodak Co. of Rochester, N.Y.; Dell Inc. of Round Rock, Texas; and Taiwan company Foxconn Technology Holdings, a parts supplier for Apple Computer Inc.'s iPods. "We are going to exert very high pressure on these companies until unions are established there," Mr. Guo said.
The move follows the rapid spread of unions across Wal-Mart China's 62 retail stores this year, after years of pressure from the federation.
A Kodak spokesman in China said the company doesn't oppose trade unions. David Frink, a spokesman for Dell, said, "We are strongly committed to being a great place to work and having open and direct and regular communications with our staff at all levels," adding that Dell now has 6,000 employees in China.
Foxconn declined to comment.
Mr. Guo said the union's success with Wal-Mart has boosted morale and increased demands to establish unions in all foreign-funded enterprises in China. These include Fortune 500, Hong Kong and Taiwan companies, he said, adding that the ACFTU has begun "an irreversible trend."
Andy Stern, president of the U.S.'s Service Employees International Union, who was recently in China meeting with ACFTU members, said, "I think what happens to Chinese unions will have a huge impact on what kind of global wages and benefits workers everywhere make. You're seeing growing unrest among workers, a more aggressive ACFTU and I think a lot of that will be focused on foreign-owned enterprises."
The federation's drive is part of an effort by China's leaders to focus on the plight of China's low-wage migrant workers, many of whom operate in poor working conditions with delayed wages. These problems are generating social unrest and have encouraged the rise of some independent trade unions in some of China's major manufacturing zones, which China's central government is anxious to prevent.
Although the ACFTU isn't a government entity, it is an umbrella body for unions backed by the government and has ties to the Communist Party. ACFTU head Wang Zhaoguo is a member of the party's Central Committee Politburo. Union officials describe the ACFTU as a union with "Chinese characteristics," whereby trade unions mediate between employer and employee to promote harmonious relationships.
Critics charge the union is more concerned with helping China's leaders control employees than in helping workers. The ACFTU's current push, they say, is largely motivated by a drive to shore up membership dues. In past years, membership has fallen as state-owned enterprises -- the ACFTU's traditional base -- downsized as China's economy shifted to a capitalist model.
The ACFTU is on track to meet its target of getting 60% of foreign companies in China to unionize by the end of this year, officials say. The union has seen an unprecedented 6% rise in membership in the first six months of the year to 160.32 million members, with 2.58 million new members working with foreign companies.
During Mr. Stern's visit, organizers from the SEIU and the ACFTU shared strategies, and the two sides talked about developing national agreements with companies rather than local contracts. "We'd rather have their wages come up, rather than American wages go down," he said, adding that the SEIU will continue to build its relationship with the Chinese union.
Companies that have recently unionized in China include Nestlé SA, General Semiconductor Inc. and British do-it-yourself chain B&Q PLC, the ACFTU said. Under Chinese law, employers can't prevent their workers from forming officially sanctioned unions if they wish to do so.
The measures employed by the ACFTU to organize Wal-Mart included mobilizing the support of local governments and promising Wal-Mart's workers that the ACFTU would help them find replacement jobs if they encountered reprisals.
Wal-Mart spokesman Jonathan Dong said company policy respects Chinese laws and the wishes of its employees.
中国全面推进在华外企组建工会
继成功在沃尔玛(Wal-Mart Stores)建立了工会组织之后，中华全国总工会准备敦促更多的外资企业组建工会。此举表明北京对改善员工就业条件予以了更高的关注。
全国总工会基层组织建设部部长郭稳才把周四的决定称为“新一波浪潮”。在全国总工会新开出的关注名单上，伊士曼-柯达(Eastman Kodak)、戴尔(Dell Inc.)和鸿准精密(Foxconn Technology)等公司赫然在列。郭稳才表示，“我们将向这些公司施加压力，直到它们成立工会为止。”
相关报导
? 沃尔玛高层与中国全总官员会面
? 沃尔玛在中国的第二家工会成立
? 沃尔玛在中国的首个工会组织成立
此前，全国总工会对沃尔玛的多年施压终于收到成效：沃尔玛62家中国分店的工会如星火燎原之势纷纷成立了起来。
柯达中国业务的发言人表示，该公司并不反对组建工会。鸿准精密的发言人拒绝置评，记者没能联系上戴尔公司在亚洲的管理人士。
郭稳才表示，在沃尔玛的中国分店成功组建工会鼓舞了士气，要求所有在华外资企业中成立工会的呼声也更加高涨。他说，这些外资企业包括财富500强的所有企业以及香港和台湾企业。
全国总工会的上述举动反映出：国内低收入民工阶层的生存状况引起了中国领导人的高度关注。许多民工平常在艰苦的环境下工作，但即便这样，企业仍然有时拖欠向他们发放工资。这些问题不但造成了社会动荡，还导致中国一些重要的制造业地区成立了独立的工会。
虽然全国总工会并不是一个政府部门，但它是中国所有工会组织的领导机构，而且得到了政府的支持。全国总工会现任主席王兆国是中央政治局委员。工会官员把全国总工会称为具有中国特色的工会组织，旨在调解企业和员工之间的矛盾、构建和谐关系。
有批评声称，全国总工会更关注的是如何帮助政府控制员工、而不是为员工造福。这些批评者说，要求更多的外资企业成立工会主要是为了寻找新的会费收入来源。过去几年间，随着中国走向市场经济、对国有企业进行精简压缩，全国总工会的会员数量出现了下滑。
全国总工会的官员表示，有望在今年年底之前实现让60%的在华外企都设立工会的目标。今年上半年，全国总工会的会员史无前例地增长了6%，达到1.6032亿人，其中有258万新会员来自外企。
不久前与全国总工会官员进行了会晤的服务业员工国际联合会(Service Employees International Union)总裁安迪?斯特恩(Andy Stern)表示，他认为中国工会组织的新动向对全球各地工人的待遇和福利将产生巨大的影响。员工们的不满情绪正在与日俱增，全国总工会以更积极的态度介入其中，相信不少措施都是针对外资企业的。
在斯特恩访华期间，服务业员工国际联合会和全国总工会交换了策略，双方讨论了制定全国统一标准劳资协议的事宜。他说，我们宁愿希望看到中国工人待遇的提高，也不愿看到美国工人薪金的下降。他透露，服务业员工国际联合会将同全国总工会继续展开合作。
全国总工会透露，雀巢(Nestle SA)、通用半导体(General Semiconductor Inc.)、百安居(B&Q PLC)等在华外企也在不久前组建了工会。
根据中国的相关法律，如果员工有成立工会的愿望，企业就不能加以阻止。
全国总工会为让沃尔玛的中国分店设立工会采取了一系列措施，如寻求地方政府的支持，向沃尔玛的员工承诺如果遭到沃尔玛的报复将帮他们另谋出路。在沃尔玛中国业务第一个成立了工会的晋江店，全国总工会的官员就下榻在离员工们不远的酒店里，并为他们提供24小时的帮助。郭稳才表示，他们甚至请来了晋江市市长亲自向沃尔玛施压。
之前，全国总工会还威胁要从沃尔玛支付给员工的薪金中抽出一小部分作为筹建工会的资金，并要求有关部门加大对沃尔玛中国分店的健康和卫生检查力度。
7月29日，沃尔玛在中国的第一家工会终于诞生了。在接下来的两个月里，沃尔玛在中国的所有分店都有了自己的工会。这些工会目前共有6,000名员工，占沃尔玛中国员工总数的20%左右。
沃尔玛中国总部公共关系总监董玉国(Jonathan Dong)表示，沃尔玛奉行的是遵守中国法律和尊重员工愿望的政策。
Mei Fong
