Active effort
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Trade unions must expand their existing ambit if they are to effectively defend the rights and interests of workers, especially during predictably tough negotiations with employers for higher wages and better working conditions.
Only then can China bid smooth adieu to the era of cheap labor.
As such, the recent call for unionization of all non-State businesses by the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) should not be a matter of expedience.
After a rare strike at Honda's parts plant in Guangdong and a spate of worker suicides at Foxconn's Shenzhen unit cast a decidedly unfavorable light on the conditions of factory workers, the ACFTU moved quickly to urge the setting up of trade unions in private and foreign-funded companies.
Obviously, such an attempt to unionize workers in non-State enterprises is meant to help address labor disputes and protect workers' rights, particularly in a scenario where China's wage costs are set to rise significantly after three decades of witnessing cheap and ample labor supply.
Higher wages for Chinese workers will not only boost domestic consumption but also propel industrial restructuring, which will, in turn, reduce economic imbalances at home and abroad.
Nevertheless, the pay hike will not come quick enough given its implications on the bottom-line of companies, especially those with razor thin profit margins.
Unionization is only the first step in ensuring that the balance of power in these factories is not unfavorably tilted against workers.
To enable Chinese workers better enjoy the fruits of China's remarkable growth, both the government and enterprises have to do their bits to increase the overall share of gross domestic product that goes to wages.
And, trade unions can serve as a better bridge in relationships between workers and employers as well as the government.
As the Honda and Foxconn cases show, the trade unions unfortunately failed to show more teeth in defending workers' legitimate interests right at the outset.
Unionization is insufficient unless it is accompanied by better activism on the part of trade unions to safeguard employee rights.
