China Labor News Translations

In this short installment of China Labor News Translations, we bring you the story of the dismissal of union chair from a hotel building owned by the Guangdong Federation of Trade Unions (GDFTU). This profoundly ironic and deeply troubling story exploded in the Guangzhou media last month, and in addition to some excellent reporting, there have been a number of high quality op-ed pieces harshly criticizing the behavior of hotel management and the trade union.

The attached document is a translation of the collective agreement in effect between one of the individual unionized Wal-Mart stores in China and the responsible local trade union committee. It represents the template agreement that has been followed by all of the unionized Wal-Mart stores in China since July 2008.

A union struggle for union self-determination continues

In October 2008, CLNT covered the case of the Ole Wolff (Yantai) Trade Union, or OWYTU. The case was unique in several ways – the workers’ tenacity in establishing their own union, in choosing their own union leadership, in withstanding employer retaliation, in achieving a sympathetic local profile in the media and in successfully forging solidarity links to the Danish trade union in the employer’s home country.

This edition of CLNT picks up the story as it has developed over the past four months.