|
Wal-Mart Opens Communist Branch in China |
|
Thursday, 24 August 2006 |
|
SHANGHAI, China (AP) -- Capitalist icon Wal-Mart, the world's biggest retailer, now has its first communist party branch.
By Elaine Kurtenbach, AP Business Writer
Wal-Mart Outlet in Northeastern Rust-Belt City Opens Chinese Communist Party Branch
The party branch, a Communist Youth League branch and a trade union were set up earlier this month at the outlet in the northeastern rust belt city of Shenyang, a staffer in the store's communications department said, confirming Chinese media reports. President Hu Jintao, who heads the ruling communist party, reportedly prompted China's state-sanctioned labor group to launch a campaign to set up party-controlled unions in Wal-Mart branches. The retailer resisted for two years before employees in the southeastern city of Quanzhou successfully voted to set up a union in late July.
Wal-Mart has 60 stores in 30 cities in China and more than 30,000 Chinese employees, including 700 in Shenyang, according to the official Xinhua News Agency, which reported the news of the new party branch as an "urgent."
Since July, employees at at least 16 other Wal-Marts in China also have formed unions, according to the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, the umbrella group for unions permitted by the communist government.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., based in Bentonville, Ark., has fought efforts to form unions elsewhere in its worldwide operations. But it said this month it would cooperate with the ACFTU to organize its Chinese employees.
The move to increase party influence in foreign invested companies comes at a time when China is pushing to unionize employees at 60 percent of China's foreign companies.
Unions in China usually represent the workforce of a single company or outlet, rather than a whole industry. China does not allow independent labor organizations.
Georgia AFL-CIO WIN WalMart's website proclaims that they value feedback but they don't make it easy to actually give feedback but if you are inclined to let them know what you think of their cozy communist connection please click on this link and fill out the form and add your comments http://walmartstores.com/GlobalWMStoresWeb/navigate.do?catg=221 or you may copy and paste the following in their comments section:
Mr. Scott please allow free trade unions the same access and assistance you provide too the communist trade unions in efforts to represent the employees of WalMart. You may call them "Associates" in the hope that they won't realize they are merely wage slaves and that you don't really associate with people at their socio economic level. But by any name they deserve the unfettered right to form a free trade union at stores in the USA and Canada.
|
