Wal-Mart allows second union in China
(Shanghai Daily)
Updated: 2006-08-07 11:03
WAL-MART, the world's leading retailer, saw its second trade union in China
formed on Friday in the southern city of Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, just six
days after its first trade union was set up in a store in Fujian Province.
Forty-two employees of Wal-Mart's Hujing store in Shenzhen, the first outlet
in China, braved a typhoon and elected their first trade union committee, and a
27-year-old employee named Zhou Liang was elected chairman, Saturday's Workers'
Daily reported.
Zhou was quoted as saying that the committee will "safeguard the lawful
rights and interests of the employees" and "cooperate with the enterprise
operators," in a bid to "harmonize" the relationship between employees and
employers.
A trade union was formed at Wal-Mart's Jinjiang outlet in Fujian Province on
July 29 after 30 employees appealed to the local federation of trade unions. It
is the first trade union among Wal-Mart's 60 Chinese outlets, which employ a
total of 23,000 people.
The move came after more than two years' efforts by the All-China Federation
of Trade Unions to push the retail giant to set up labor unions in its 60
outlets around the country.
As the world's leading retailer with 1.6 million employees in 16 countries
and regions, Wal-Mart has a tradition of not allowing trade unions in its
outlets, for which it has been widely criticized by human rights and labor
organizations.
According to China's trade union law, enterprises or institutions with 25
employees and above should establish trade unions, and all employees have the
right to join the ACFTU, and anyone who applied to set up a union should be
approved by the company.
A senior ACFTU official said earlier this week that all Wal-Mart outlets in
China must allow trade unions.
"This is only the beginning. Our goal is to spread trade unions to every
Wal-Mart outlet in China," said Guo Wencai, director of ACFTU's department of
grassroots organizations.
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