World's leading retailer Wal-Mart saw its first trade union in
China established on Saturday morning in Quanzhou, southeastern Fujian Province.?
The move came after more than two years' efforts by the
All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) to push the giant to
set up labor unions in its 59 outlets around the country.
Twenty five employees of a Wal-Mart shop in Jinjiang elected
seven members of their trade union committee in a meeting room of
the local trade unions federation, and Ke Yunlong, 29, was elected
chairman.
Thirty Wal-Mart employees had applied to the Quanzhou City
Federation of Trade Unions for the establishment of their own labor
union.
Fu Furong, deputy chairman of the Quanzhou City Federation of
Trade Unions, said that to join the trade union was a voluntary
choice of these employees, and the Federation respected their
rights and decision.
According to China's trade union law, enterprises or
institutions with 25 employees and above should establish trade
unions.
Xu Deming, vice president of the ACFTU, said that trade unions,
organized on employees' own will, can safeguard the economic,
political and cultural rights of workers.
Trade unions can also help "lubricate" the relationship between
employees and employers, Xu said.
The ACFTU has a membership of 150 million and has 1.174 million
branches. In 2006, the union plans to install more than 120,000
branches across the country, with more than 13 million new
members.
One of the major tasks of the ACFTU in 2006 is to push
foreign-funded or transnational companies to unionize, said Xu.
Up to date, China has more than 100,000 overseas companies, plus
those from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao, and 39,000 have built labor
unions, no more than three tenths.
Wal-Mart China, employing over 23,000 people, released a
statement last November, saying "should associates request the
formation of a union, Wal-Mart China would respect their wishes and
honor its obligation under China's trade union law."
The statement also pledges to "continue to work closely with our
associates and appropriate government authorities to ensure full
compliance with China's trade union law."
According to China's trade union law, all employees have the
right to join the ACFTU, and anyone who applied for the setting up
of a union should be approved by the company.
(Xinhua News Agency July 30, 2006)