The management of some State-owned companies has been criticized
for mistreating employees after it emerged that 11 migrant workers
were fed leftovers at a Beijing construction site.
Xu Deming, vice chairman of the All-China Federation of Trade
Unions, said yesterday that some State-owned firms failed to show
respect to their workers and added they should be "morally
condemned."
He added that trade unions were seeking to enhance their
influence among migrant workers and help curb incidents in which
they were treated badly.
According to previous reports, 11 migrant workers employed by
China Construction Second Engineering Bureau found leftovers
including gnawed chicken bones, fish bones and broken eggs in their
meals over two days earlier this month.
One worker, Wang Junjie, kept a 5-centimeter-long fish bone as
evidence, and the chef has since been fired.
The incident sparked debate among tens of thousands of people on
the Internet when the story broke.
Health officials said serving leftovers did not breach the law,
but added that providing stale or unhygienic food was illegal.
Following the involvement of the All-China Federation of Trade
Unions and local trade union organizations, management officials at
the construction site and the workers' employer apologized.
"The incident shows the management at some State-owned companies
has little knowledge of showing respect to their employees," Xu
said.
"They failed to put workers first and should be morally
condemned."
He added his organization and some State departments had
demanded that working conditions of migrant workers be improved
prior to the incident.
The organization has previously pledged to have 10 specific
projects in place by the end of this year to safeguard the rights
and interests of China's approximate 150 million migrant
workers.
They include pressing employers to sign labor contracts with
workers, providing greater help to those whose rights have been
infringed upon, and ensuring they are fully paid.
"But we might not have promoted ourselves enough among migrant
workers," Xu said. "Workers sometimes don't have a clear
understanding of what trade unions could do for them."
(China Daily April 28, 2006)