posted on Nov, 23 2004 @ 09:16 AM
A little article from Forbes this morning which is good news for the working man on the planet.... The boys on Wall Street are so stupid that they
sold us out to foreign competition via outsourcing and now those people will unionize and screw the big companies so hard in the next 10 years they
will broke. Just watch it happen! India is going to impose a tax on the total gross earnings on all technology companies this year, let's see how
that bodes with the scum management at HP, IBM, etc.
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Associated Press
Wal-Mart Concedes China Can Make Unions
11.23.2004, 07:39 AM
Under pressure from the Chinese labor federation, the world's biggest retailer, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., said Tuesday it would permit branches of the
official Communist Party-controlled union in its Chinese stores if employees requested it.
"Should associates request formation of a union, Wal-Mart China would respect their wishes and honor its obligation under China's Trade Union Law,"
said the Bentonville, Ark.-based company in a statement faxed to news media.
"Currently, there are no unions in Wal-Mart China because associates have not requested that one be formed," the statement said.
The 123 million-member All China Federation of Trade Unions last month threatened to sue Wal-Mart and other companies based outside China if they
don't set up union branches in their China operations.
The federation did not immediately respond to telephone or faxed requests for comment.
The unionization drive was the latest attempt by the union - the sole body permitted to organize workers in China - to penetrate the most dynamic
sector of the economy, shore up its declining membership, and boost its lowly political status.
Branches of the Chinese union are usually toothless management-controlled bodies that work mostly to prevent conflict.
Wal-Mart, which operates 39 stores in China employing 20,000 people, didn't say what specifically prompted its announcement. But it did note recent
media coverage about the company's relationship with the union and said the statement was intended to "clarify that relationship."
"Wal-Mart is currently in full compliance with China's Trade Union Law, which states that establishing a union is a voluntary action of the
associates," the statement said.
Wal-Mart has no unionized stores, although workers at a Wal-Mart in Canada recently had their union accredited by the local labor board. Wal-Mart was
expected to fight that ruling.
The chain has more than 1,300 outlets in nine countries employing 300,000 people.
It sourced $15 billion worth of products in China last year.