China’s labour law raises US concerns

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/09d35e16-f8c4-11db-a940-000b5df10621,dwp_uuid=9c33700c-4c86-11da-89df-0000779e2340.html

China’s labour law raises US concerns

By Geoff Dyer in Shanghai

Published: May 2 2007 18:45 | Last updated: May 2 2007 18:45

Fake DVDs and the undervalued renminbi have been the main points of discussion in the US about the rise of the Chinese economy. But another issue is gathering steam in the US – a new law that seeks to boost the employment rights of Chin­ese workers and give trade unions more influence.

While the bill was discussed behind closed doors by legislators in Beijing last week and the latest version is still a secret, the law is the subject of an increasingly bitter war of words in the US between business groups and trade unions unhappy about outsourcing jobs to Asia.

Last week the United Steelworkers, one of the biggest industrial unions, came out in favour of the law and accused US business groups of trying to block reforms. Leo Gerard, the USW president, criticised what he called the American Chamber of Commerce’s “immoral campaign to undermine Chinese workers rights”.

In a sign of the increasingly complex relationship between two countries with closely linked economies but vastly different political systems, Chinese supporters of the bill have even toured the US to rally opinion. Liu Cheng, a law professor at Shanghai Normal University, visited members of Congress and unions last month. “I told them that the business groups just want to maintain their sweatshops to protect their low-price strategy,” he said on his return.

Business groups fiercely deny strong-arming China into weakening its legislation. The Shanghai office of Amcham insisted it “has never lobbied against, and is not lobbying against, the draft labour contract law”.

Aside from the furore in the US, the bill is a delicate issue in China. The government has pledged to reduce income inequality and supporters say 200,000 Chinese sent in opinions on the first draft of the labour bill, a sign of intense public interest. Yet policymakers do not want to deter investment by companies in sectors such as textiles, some of whom are already shifting production to Vietnam and Bangladesh because of rising labour costs.

FULL story at link.