V. Denial of Independent Trade Unions and Collective BargainingChinese law does not recognize the right of workers to organize and form trade unions outside the state-affiliated All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU),179 and this in turn exacerbates the exploitation of migrant construction workers in Beijing. The Trade Union Law of the Peoples Republic of China explicitly links the role of the AFCTU to government policies directed at the development of Chinas socialist modernization.180 The ACFTUs chairman, Wang Zhaoguo, is also vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of Chinas parliament, the National Peoples Congress.181
The Trade Union Laws prohibition of any labor union activity outside the AFCTU has been criticized by international labor organizations as an unfair limitation on workers right to organize. The International Labor Organization describes the ACFTUs role as sole trade union in China as a system of trade union monopoly [which] limits the right of workers to form and join organizations of their own choice.183 Workers rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining, including the right to organize unions for the protection of their interests, are guaranteed by international human rights law, and are specifically protected under article 8 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to which China is a party.184 Article 6 of Chinas Trade Union Law appoints the ACFTU to represent and safeguard the rights and interests of employees through equal negotiation and collective contract system.185 However, the former International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) describes the ACFTUs close links to the Chinese government and the policies of the Chinese Communist Party as contrary to the independent nature of free trade unions.186 The former ICFTU has described the Trade Union Laws specification of ACFTU responsibilities187 as a serious handicap to the organizations ability to adequately work for the interests of workers and effectively renders the ACFTU not a genuine trade union.188 The utility of the ACFTU in the development and protection of legally-stipulated rights for migrant construction workers is particularly questionable in light of official data which indicates that only 30 percent of such laborers have union membership.189 While the ACFTU announced in 2006 that it had set a goal of unionizing 70 percent of all of Chinas migrant workers by 2008,190 even accomplishing that ambitious goal will still leave a full 30 percent of all migrant workers, a minimum of 30 million people, without union protection. 179 Trade Union Law of the Peoples Republic of China, adopted April 3, 2007, art. 2. 180 Ibid., art. 1. 181 China Assembly Head Chairs Meeting to Hear Reports on Handling of Bills, Xinhua News Agency, October 28, 2007. 182 China Labour Bulletin, Conflicts of Interest and the Ineffectiveness of Chinas Labour Laws: English Executive Summary, October2007, www.china-labour.org.hk/public/contents/category?cid=5712] (accessed October 29, 2007). 183 Remarks by Juan Somavia at a press conference on the occasion of the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation between China and the ILO, International Labor Organization, May 17, 2001, http://www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/dgo/messages/2001/beijing.htm (accessed October 17, 2007). 184 See further Chinas reservation at signing that the right was to be read as consistent with the Trade Union Law of the People's Republic of China and Labor Law of the People's Republic of China. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has noted its regret at the Chinese prohibition of enjoyment of the right to organize and join independent trade unions; Ibid., para. 26. 185 Trade Union Law, art. 6. 186 International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, Letter from ICFTU general-secretary (unnamed) to Juan Somavia, director-general, International Labor Organization, August 31, 2006, www.ihlo.org/is/000806.html (accessed September 18, 2007). 187 Trade Union Law, art. 4 and art. 27. 188 International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, Letter from ICFTU general-secretary (unnamed) to Juan Somavia, director-general, International Labor Organization, August 31, 2006, www.ihlo.org/is/000806.html (accessed September 18, 2007). 189 Chinese Migrant Building Workers Join Trade Unions, Xinhua News Agency, May 26, 2005. 190 Bulletin, All-China Federation of Trade Unions, June 4, 2006, http://www.acftu.org.cn/0604.htm (accessed October 17, 2007). |