Unionizing Chinese Walmart Store - Dissertation Example

 UNIONIZING CHINESE WALMART STORE The Chinese trade union law dictates that there should be joining of the unions by companies in the country with the basic duty being to protect the legitimate interest and rights of all the workers. The union in the country defines itself as being the promoter of harmony between management and labor (Chan, 2011). The first store of Wal-Mart that established a union was in 2006. The time the company was informed on the formation of unions in its stores, it went up to activities against formation of the unions. There were meetings that were held and there were warnings that those that joined the union would have the contracts that they were in renewed (Chan, 2011). Wal-Mart miscalculated the thinking that they had of using the same anti-union tactics as they had used in the other countries in China. They realize that the tactics would not make them compete effectively with other unions in the country unless they joined unions. They joined the unions since the unions would not have challenged the management (Chan, 2011). They also agreed to join the unions at last since the process that would be used would be similar to the other trade unions that are set under the same law. The retailer was reluctant to join the union with the consideration that through the law in the country, management of the company was bound to give the union branch a percentage of the total payroll to support the activities of the union. Part of the sum was intended to go to the upper part of the union and the other part would be used in running the activities for the workers. The other reasons for going against the union by Wal-Mart was that no matter how much a union may be subservient it is best considered not be in a position to provide any potential through which the workers could be represented (Chan, 2011). Wal-Mart has had a resistance of unions in most of the countries but has allowed the formation of unions in China. The largest retailer in the world, which employs close to 23,000 people in China, will allow the federation to form branches in all the outlets in China (Star, 2015). The world retailor was under pressure from the other unions that claimed that the company contributed much to violation of human rights job losses when it carries its operations in China. This was because the United States employees are not under unions. The unions also were formed to meet the demands of Chinese government that allows unions to have a formal establishment. The formation however has not translated to any effective bargaining power of the employees, which was the main aim of forming the unions. The retailer claimed that instead of forming unions, it encouraged the employees to have a direct communication with the company in the issues of concern (Star, 2015). This would make the issues to be taken seriously and followed up with the right actions. Due to global recession, the retailer agreed to form unions for workers in China so that they would be allowed to carry out their operation in the country where they have an ambitious expansion plans. China is the country where the operations of the company lag behind in the global rivalry. In one of the claims that were presented in the courts, the retailer has been considered to engage in unfair labor practices under a different section of the labor code. They noted that workers are in a position to apply for a reinstatement in a situation where there is no longer existence of workplace (Star, 2015). The claim also noted that Wal-Mart was engaged in a strategy that hindered and intimidated employees and that which was union bursting. The practices were considered unfair. Before the union, the decisions that were made by the retailer do not govern the employees or employers in the other provinces in which there were different labor codes. The provisions however only focus on a few codes that are applied in some countries. The union was formed to take into consideration all the desires and the lives of employees in China. The unions were formed to watch the community, religious, coalition of labor and environment group that wanted the company to boost benefits and wages for its employees. Since China is a highly growing economy, the retailer thought that formation of unions in the country might be in a position to put pressure on the other companies that invest in the economy when they allow employees to be in a position to organize. The management of the stores in China stated that the unions that were formed in China were different from the other few that have been formed in the other parts of the world as they have the main goal of building a harmonious society (Star, 2015). In China formation of unions have been a tradition for the control of workers rather that a movement for strikes and agitations which are almost not allowed. In the country, there has also been the appointment of the choices of individuals to union leadership positions. The economy in China has experienced many changes that have also led to an increase in labor unrest. The unions have them been essential in fighting for the employees to achieve good living standards and increased quality of working life rather than containing discontent and making the compliant of labor to the wills of employees. When Wal-Mart refused to join the unions, the unionizing was done from the bottom line. The official of the unions decided to raise the conscious of the employees after their work away from the Wal-Mart premises and giving them the education to make them convinced in joining trade union branch. The signatures that were needed to join the trade branch union were 25 and the officials were able to secure the signatures from the employees. The retailer came to realize that the agreement to join the union was to work for the benefit of workers. This was to be true only if the local unions were in a serious position to confront Wal-Mart. This also made the retailer have a feeling that when they joined the union, they were in a position to control them much and gain much market share in the country. References Chan, A. (2011). Walmart in China. Ithaca: ILR Press. Star, T. (2015). Top court backs Wal-Mart over union store closing | Toronto Star. thestar.com. Retrieved 20 October 2015, from http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2009/11/27/top_court_backs_walmart_over_union_store_closing.html Read More