Wal-Mart workers establish 3rd trade union
By Wu Jiao (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-08-08 08:50 NANJING: The world's leading retailer Wal-Mart saw
its third trade union in China set up over the weekend in Nanjing, capital of
East China's Jiangsu Province, just a week after its first trade union was
formed in a store in East China's Fujian Province.
Thirty-one employees of Wal-Mart's Xinjiekou store in Nanjing elected their
first trade union committee, and a 22-year-old mid-level management employee
named Wu Yinzheng, who has a university education background, was elected
chairman.
Wu vowed in the election that the committee would safeguard the legal rights
and interests of employees according to the laws of the country, and try to
maintain a smooth relationship between employees and employers.
Within the committee, a financial department and women's federation were also
formed during the Saturday election.
According to Chen Siming, chairman of the Nanjing Federation of Trade Unions,
he and fellow workers had tried to talk operators of Wal-Mart Nanjing branch
into setting up a trade union ever since its establishment in 2004, but got no
reply from management.
So Chen tried direct contact with Wal-Mart employees, which finally led to
the formation of the new trade union.
"Some foreign enterprises seem to think that trade unions will go against
employers' profits. It is absolutely wrong. A trade union is only an
organization to protect the rights of the employees and update their skills. It
will only benefit the enterprises, not harm them," Chen told China Daily.
But employees who signed their names for the trade union were reported to
have suffered pressure from Wal-Mart operators.
A worker who declined to reveal his name was quoted by local newspaper
Yangtze Evening Post saying that the Wal-Mart management in Nanjing even
threatened not to renew contracts if workers joined the union.
But Chen Siming said that the municipal union would back the legal rights of
its union members and fight against job discrimination.
(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)
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