A trade union has been set up for Foxconn, a Taiwan-invested
company that was embroiled in a messy lawsuit with a local newspaper that
exposed poor labor practices at the IT company's Shenzhen plant
where iPods are assembled.
Foxconn, the largest Sino-foreign joint venture in Shenzhen
which employs at least 200,000 workers, had not established a trade
union after years of negotiations. A trade union can be established
in any enterprise in China with a minimum of 25 workers.
Altogether 118 Foxconn employees joined the trade union on
Sunday, which was set up for Foxconn by the general trade union of
Shenzhen. No one from the company's management attended the group's
inaugural meeting, the South China Metropolitan News
reported on Monday.
"This is an innovative move," said Duan Xinqing, a local trade
union official who represents the newly established organization at
Foxconn. "It'll help promote the protection of workers' rights in
other foreign-funded and private businesses."
Duan said the group will rent an office in Longhua District,
where Hongfujin Precision Industry Co. -- the largest Foxconn
facility -- is located.
He said the trade union will recruit more members from among
Foxconn’s employees even if Foxconn sets up its own trade union as
it has been promising to do.
A spokesman from Foxconn said the company had planned to set up
its own trade union in January. "We started making preparations in
November," said Liu Zhongxian. "But I was not aware the city trade
union was about to set up one for us."
The city trade union says it has been trying to persuade Foxconn
to set up a labor union since 2004, but it just never happened. The
two sides agreed in 2006 that a union had to be established before
the end of the year.
The city trade union had also been pressing 29 other companies,
mostly privately-owned or foreign-invested, to establish labor
unions in 2006.
The China Business News reported on June 15 that many
of Foxconn's workers had to work while standing for 12 hours a day
and some fainted with fatigue.
In early July, Foxconn filed a lawsuit against the two
journalists who wrote the report, demanding 30 million yuan
(US$3.75 million) in compensation.
The company slashed its defamation claim to just one yuan in
August and dropped the lawsuit altogether in early September.
Foxconn and the newspaper then released a joint statement saying
they would apologize to each other, collaborate to protect workers'
rights and contribute to building a harmonious society.
Foxconn Group's wholly-owned subsidiary in Shenzhen, Hongfujin
Precision Industry Co., produces iPods for US-based Apple Inc.
(Xinhua News Agency January 2, 2007)