The Chinese trade unions are mass organizations formed by the
Chinese working class on a voluntary basis. The Trade Union Law of
the People's Republic of China and the Constitution of the Chinese
Trade Unions stipulate that union membership is open to all manual
and mental workers in enterprises, institutions and government
departments within the territory of the People's Republic of China
who rely on wages or salaries as their main source of income,
irrespective of their nationality, race, sex, occupation, religious
belief or educational background as long as they accept the
Constitution of the Chinese Trade Unions.
The Chinese trade unions take the country's Constitution as the
fundamental criterion for their activities, carry out their work
independently according to laws and the trade unions' constitution,
and exercise their rights and undertake their obligations according
to laws. The Trade Union Law of the People's Republic of China
provides that protecting workers' legitimate rights and interests
is the basic duty of the Chinese trade unions. The supreme organs
of power of the Chinese trade unions are the national congress of
the trade unions and the executive committee of the All-China
Federation of Trade Unions it elects; the leading bodies of the
trade unions at lower levels are the local trade union congresses
and the trade union committees of trade union federations they
elect; the All-China Federation of Trade Unions is established as
the unified national organization.
The All-China Federation of Trade Unions was founded on May 1st,
1925. As a unified, united and powerful trade union organization,
the ACFTU is the leading body of trade union federations at local
level and industrial unions at national level. At present, there
are 31 trade union federations at provincial level, 10 industrial
unions at national level and two trade union federations for public
employees of party departments directly under the Party Central
Committee and public employees of government departments directly
under the State Council. At present, the ACFTU has a total
membership of 130 million.
The Chinese trade unions follow the principle in which industrial
unions at local level accept the dual leadership of local trade
union federations and industrial unions at higher levels. In other
words, workers in one enterprise, institution or government
department are formed into one grassroots trade union organization
while workers in one industry or several similar industries can set
up an industrial union at national or local level according to
their needs.
The ACFTU actively seek exchanges and cooperation with trade unions
and labor circles in the Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative
Regions and Taiwan region on the principle of non-affiliation,
non-interference in each other's internal affairs and mutual
respect.
The Chinese trade unions pursue the principle of independence and
extensive contacts in international activities and are ready to
transcend differences in ideology and international affiliations in
order to develop relations with trade union organizations of all
countries on the basis of independence, equality, mutual respect
and non-interference in each other's internal affairs. So far, the
Chinese trade unions have established relations with trade unions
in more than 140 countries and regions as well as a number of
international trade union organizations.
Since they were established, the Chinese trade unions have, under
the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, worked hard to
safeguard workers' economic, political and cultural rights,
stimulate workers' enthusiasm and push ahead with China's
revolution, construction and reform. The Chinese trade unions enjoy
the following advantages:
1. High Political Status
The Chinese working class is the ruling class of the country. As
mass organizations of the working class, the Chinese trade unions
are a bridge between the broad masses of workers and the Chinese
Communist Party and an important social pillar of state power. They
play an important role in the country's political, economic and
social life. Leaders of many local trade unions assume important
positions on Party committees and in the people's congresses and
political consultative conferences at local levels, which create
favorable conditions for trade unions to participate in politics
and protect workers' legitimate rights and interests.
2. Legal and Policy Guarantee
The Trade Union Law was among the first three important laws to be
promulgated shortly after New China was founded in 1950. In October
2001, the Trade Union Law was again revised, thus providing a more
powerful legal guarantee for trade unions to fulfill their
protective functions.
3. United and Sound Organizational Structure
Trade union organizations have been set up at national, municipal,
county, township, neighborhood and grassroots levels across the
country.
4. Large Membership and High Unionization Rate
5. Adequate Funding
China's laws lay down that enterprises, institutions and government
departments where trade unions are established must contribute 2
percent of the monthly payroll of their workforce to trade union
funds. The constant developing worker welfare businesses also
provide financial support for union activities.
Since China opened its door to the outside and decided to establish
a socialist market economy, the country has undergone profound and
complex changes in economic and labor relations, with various forms
of ownership, employment, income distribution as well as
social strata and interest becoming increasingly
diversified. Therefore participating in coordinating labor
relations and protecting workers' legitimate rights and interests
calls for the immediate attention of trade unions. This work is
becoming ever more arduous and urgent for the trade unions with the
country's on-going reform, The 2nd Session of the 12th ACFTU
Executive Committee, which was held in December 1994, seized the
opportunity of carrying out the Labor Law and developed a clear
vision for the trade union movement during the new period, taking
Deng Xiaoping's Theory and the basic line of the Party as its
guiding principle. The basic tasks the meeting mapped out for the
trade unions include: (l) unswervingly promoting the implementation
of the Party's principle of relying whole-heartedly on the working
class, placing emphasis on the protective functions of trade unions
and taking the fulfillment of such functions as a major means of
serving the overall situation of the work of the Party and the
government; (2) coordinating labor relations in accordance with the
Trade Union Law and the Labor Law and doing practical things for
workers living in poverty; (3) putting into practice the theory of
"Three Representatives" in real earnest according to the nature and
characteristics of trade unions, carrying out work independently
and creatively in accordance with law and the Constitution of the
Chinese Trade Unions, organizing as many workers as possible into
trade unions, protecting workers' enthusiasm and creativeness and
channeling their enthusiasm and creativeness into fulfilling the
tasks set by the Party and the government.
Under the guidance of this principle, the Chinese trade unions have
over the past five years concentrated their efforts on:
1. Organizing the Workforce According to Laws
To
organize as many workers as possible into trade unions and to
protect workers' right to join and form trade unions, the Chinese
trade unions at all levels have accelerated the pace of
unionization, adhering to the principle that where there are
workers, there should be trade unions, and have made headways in
this respect. In addition, the Chinese trade unions have done their
utmost to organize workers in newly built enterprises and have
reorganized, rebuilt and consolidated trade union organizations in
state-owned and collectively-run shareholding companies to prevent
the loss of membership. Meanwhile, the Chinese trade unions pay
special attention to bringing into full play the role of newly
formed trade unions. By the end of June 2002, there were 1.658
million grassroots trade unions around the country with a total
membership of 130 million, an increase of 225 percent and 43
percent respectively as against 510,000 grassroots trade unions and
91 million members five years before. Of this, 1.032 million unions
were in newly built enterprises with 40 million members, a
historical high. The Chinese trade unions have adjusted to changes
in economic structure and ownership and tried to extend their
presences into townships, neighborhoods, communities, special
economic zones, industrial estates and administrative villages.
2. Participating in the Legislative Process
The ACFTU and trade unions at all levels participate in the
legislative process so as to represent and safeguard workers'
interests. Over the past five years, the trade unions have
participated in formulating 1,264 local laws and policies
concerning workers' immediate interests. In addition, a tripartite
coordination mechanism has been set up nationwide. At present, the
State Tripartite Conference System of Labor Relations Coordination
was set up in August 2001. So far, the system has been established
in 30 (autonomous regions and municipalities) provinces. The trade
union-government joint consultation system is gaining ground. Up to
now, the system has been introduced in 17 (autonomous regions and
municipalities) provinces and is extending to city and county
levels. The trade unions have taken active part in the work of
labor arbitration committees at all levels. By participating in
drawing up various laws, the trade unions have effectively
protected the overall legitimate rights and interests of the broad
masses of workers.
3. Protecting Workers' Economic Interests
The Chinese trade unions at all levels have placed importance on
establishing the equal consultation and collective contract system,
implementing the Warmth Project and promoting employment for laid
off' workers. Their efforts have paid off. At present, the equal
consultation and collective contract system has been set up in
635,000 enterprises around the country, accounting for 48.7 percent
of the unionized enterprises. More than 30,000 enterprises have
conducted wage negotiations, The trade unions have done a lot to
bring workers in desperate need through tough times. The Warmth
Project was launched by the trade unions with the intention of
helping workers with financial difficulties out of poverty. Now its
scope has been extended to provide both financial assistance and
legal protection for workers in difficult circumstances. The
project is more institutionalized and socialized focused on relief
centers for poor workers in large and medium-sized cities. Over the
past five years, the trade unions at all levels have raised a total
of 10.4 billion yuan for workers in need, visited nearly 500,000
deficit-ridden enterprises and 25.60 million struggling working
class families; linked more than 800,000 Party and union leaders
with nearly a million struggling families to help the latter get
over their economic difficulties; more than 600 trade union
organizations above city level across the country have set up
hotlines for worker who want to seek help from them during New
Year's Day and the Spring Festival. The trade unions actively
assist the Party and the government in solving the employment
problems for laid off workers. While putting forward policy
proposals to the Party and the government, the trade unions give
full play to their own advantages and run various training programs
to workers so that they can find employment easily. The trade
unions have more than 6,000 training centers in China, which have
trained a total of 3 million people, and 4,000 employment agencies,
which have found jobs for more than 3 million workers. Besides,
trade unions have created 650,000 jobs by opening markets for the
unemployed or providing funding for them to go into business for
themselves. All these measures have played an active role in
freeing workers from worries, holding the workforce together and
maintaining the country's political stability.
4. Protecting Workers' Political Rights As Masters of the
Country
The Chinese trade unions at all levels actively build up the
workers' congress system in state-owned enterprises and
institutions. The trade unions insist that enterprises should bring
transparency into their operations; workers be allowed to appraise
the work of enterprise leadership; draft proposals for collective
contracts be submitted to the workers' congress for examination and
approval; entertainment expenses be subject to supervision by
workers; enterprise leaderships be honest in performing their
duties; implementation of collective contracts be reported to the
workers' congress; workers of state-owned stock companies be
represented on the board of directors and the board of supervisors.
Those efforts have strengthened the workers' congress system and
improved the work efficiency of the workers' congresses. Meanwhile,
the Chinese trade unions have urged non-public enterprises and
institutions to find out a form of worker democratic management
appropriate for their own conditions and have done everything
possible to ensure the basic rights of workers enshrined in the law
such as the right to know, the right to consult and the right to
supervise. At present, the workers' congress system has been
established in 327,000 enterprises and the number of enterprises
that have initiated the corporate transparency system has reached
251,000. These measures have boost grassroots democracy, aroused
workers' initiative as masters of their own country and given fresh
impetus to the healthy development of enterprises and
institutions.
5. Protecting Workers' Spiritual and Cultural Rights
The Chinese trade unions at all levels work in close collaboration
with Party and government organizations in raising workers'
ideological moral, technical and educational levels. The trade
unions earnestly carry out political and ideological education
among workers, educate workers to have the cardinal principles in
mind and take the overall situation into account, look at the
changes in interest in their proper perspective and actively throw
themselves into reform and construction. The trade unions have
stepped up efforts to set up a professional ethics which encourages
workers to work hard and gives them a sense of uplift. Meanwhile,
they spare no efforts to protect and guarantee their right to
receive job training, urge governments at all levels to incorporate
vocational training into the country's economic and social
development programs, urge enterprises and institutions to build a
sound vocational training system and sharpen workers' competitive
edge in the job market. The trade unions set up technical schools,
cultural palaces and clubs for workers to satisfy their educational
and cultural needs. At present, the Chinese trade unions have 2,400
training schools, with a student body of 543,000. Besides, the
trade unions have built 39,000 cultural palaces and clubs, 20,000
libraries and 52,000 gyms for workers. To build up workers' health
and add color to their lives, the trade unions take advantage of
those facilities to develop recreational and sports activities. All
this is aimed at building up a contingent of workers with lofty
ideals, moral integrity, education and discipline and to promote
socialist material and cultural progress.
6. Enlisting Workers' Initiative in Socialist Modernization
Drive
The Chinese trade unions stimulate and protect workers' initiative
and creativeness and direct their initiative and creativeness
toward pushing the socialist modernization drive forward. To this
end, the trade unions commend model workers and advanced
collectives, and encourage workers to follow their example and do
their work to the best of their ability. In addition, the trade
union foster emulations among workers and encourage them to put
forward rationalization proposals, make technical innovations and
combine their efforts to over technical problems at work. Over the
past five years, 84 million workers have participated in labor
emulations, brought forward 44.14 million rationalization
proposals, tackled 880,000 technical difficulties and popularized
320,000 new technologies. Their efforts have provided a great
stimulus to the country's economy.
The Chinese trade unions have made inspiring progress in their
international work. Over the past five years, the Chinese trade
union have strengthened substantive exchanges with trade unions of
other countries and international trade union organizations,
playing their due role in people-to-people diplomacy. At the annual
international labor conference this year, the ACFTU was elected
deputy worker member of the ILO Governing Body. The Chinese trade
unions' influence is growing, their international status is rising
and their role increasing.
The 16th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party has
further pointed the direction of Chinese trade union movement in
the new century. The Chinese trade unions will act in accordance
with the requirements Comrade Jiang Zemin has raised in his theory
of "Three Representatives" and the spirit of the 16th National
Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, protect, arouse and give
full play to workers initiative and creativeness, and guide the
broad masses of workers to play a leading role in developing the
socialist market economy, socialist democracy and socialist
culture, promoting socialist material, political and cultural
progress and rejuvenating the Chinese nation.
(China.org.cn November 12, 2002)