A Chinese lawmaker is aiming at Wal-Mart with the introduction of rules to require unions at foreign-funded companies operating in China.
Xinhua reports that Wang Zhaoguo, president of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) and vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, proposed an amendment to the Trade Union Law that makes unions compulsory for foreign-funded businesses.
"We started to push Wal-Mart to set up union branches two years ago, yet there is not a single one built so far," Wang said, "We will continue to work on this."
Currently China does have laws that allow unions at both domestic and foreign-funded firms, but the law does not go far enough to stipulate the duties a company has to ensure that a union is in place.
Many foreign companies, including the Wal-Mart, has been taking advantage of this stipulation to obstruct the setting up of a union, Xinhua quotes an unnamed ACFTU official.
