Chinese trade unions strive to protect workers' rights and interests in dealing with the global financial crisis

By Jiang Guangping
0 CommentsPrint E-mail CSHRS, November 6, 2009
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Third, we have redoubled efforts to ensure people's well-being and stimulate their employment. In view of the current increasingly severe employment situation and the difficulties for rural migrant workers to find new jobs when returning to their home villages, the ACFTU has implemented the Initiative for Supporting 10 Million Rural Migrant Workers among all the trade unions in China and effectively helped rural migrant workers to solve prominent employment and living problems. Emphasizing on providing employment support, the Initiative plans to help more than 10 million rural migrant workers through providing employment trainings, job aids, guidance on business startups, rights protection services, and everyday living support. More than 5 million workers have been enrolled in the employment support program and over 5 million workers have received rights protection service and everyday life support. At the same time, we have increased efforts to establish new trade unions, and more than 5 million rural migrant workers have become new members. By the end of last June, great progresses have been made in the implementation of the Initiative in all the trade unions across the country. More than 11.9 million rural migrant workers are included in the Initiative with a total aid fund of over 800 million Yuan. More than 1.1148 million rural migrant workers have been and are being trained and more than 1.2167 million have received rights protection service. Besides, trade unions at all levels have implemented the Household Services Promoting Employment Project, helping a number of laid-off and unemployed urban workers and rural migrant workers to participate in household services. We have launched the Sunlight Employment Initiative for University Graduates from Needy Working Families, which provides 100% support to the university graduates from working families in difficult situations. In order to accelerate the implementation of proactive employment policy, Chinese trade unions have organized guidance on business startup and career and provided small loans, assisting job seekers, especially laid-off and unemployed workers, rural migrant workers and university graduates from needy working families, to find jobs.

Fourth, special attention has been given to trainings and quality enhancement. We have vigorously strengthened the trainings of workers and staff members, and strived to improve their overall quality and reduce their stress of employment. Playing the role of a large school, Chinese trade unions have fully launched the project of improving quality of workers and staff members and encouraged them to carry out technical innovations, communications and trainings to improve their technical level. We have also stimulated enterprises to forge ahead when dealing with the global financial crisis and made efforts to help them organize trainings for rural migrant workers, unemployed workers and workers who are waiting for new assignments. Currently, the ACFTU has determined to establish the first 12 demonstration bases of technical trainings for rural migrant workers and 113 employment training bases in trade unions throughout the country, with an attempt to intensify employment trainings for rural migrant workers and trainings for a number of middle-level and high-level technical workers.

Fifth, we have attached much importance to providing support to workers and helping them overcome difficulties. Chinese trade unions have worked hard to help the industries and workers severely hit by the global financial crisis. We have assisted the government to ensure the basic living of laid-off, unemployed, and rural migrant workers and those who are in difficult situation. So far, 3,096 Support Centers For Needy Workers have been established in trade unions above county level throughout the country to help needy workers and staff members overcome living difficulties. During the New Year and Spring Festival of 2009, Chinese trade unions at all levels intensified to implement the Warmth Project for destitute workers, including raising a total project fund of 3.32 billion Yuan, visiting 111,000 enterprises in financial difficulties and 6.01 million destitute families, providing training opportunities and job offers for laid-off and unemployed workers impacted by the global financial crisis and rural migrant workers returning home, helping them solve the problems of arrears in wages and social security funds, and providing financial aids to support the education of their children.

Sixth, much attention has been given to the establishment of trade unions and the protection of legitimate rights and interests. The ACFTU has been vigorously promoting the establishment of trade unions in non-public enterprises, absorbing rural migrant workers into trade unions, and better safeguarding through organized forces the legitimate rights of workers and staff members. Since last year, the ACFTU has been focusing on accelerating the multi-national enterprises, including the World Top 500, to establish trade unions in branches in China. As a result, the rate of establishing trade unions in multi-national enterprises has been raised from 43% to 85%. In view of the challenges and problems of establishing trade unions against the current economic background, trade unions at all levels have redoubled their efforts in a steady and sustainable manner to recruit more workers, including rural migrant workers. Currently, 1.046 millions trade unions in non-public enterprises have been established, accounting for 86.2% of the total number of trade unions in enterprises; the number of membership in non-public enterprises reaches 115 million, representing 73.3% of the total number of membership; and 72.166 million rural migrant workers, or more than 50% of the total, have joined trade unions across China.

The above measures taken by Chinese trade unions have played a phenomenal role in reducing the negative impact by the global financial crisis, promoting economic growth and protecting workers’ rights, thus winning wide support from workers, enterprises and the government.

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