South Africa Wakes Up to Wal-Mart

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

by Michelle Chen

The power struggle between labor unions and Wal-Mart has raged for years in communities across the country, though the retail behemoth's PR machine has managed to maintain its spiffy brand and unbeatable low prices. But the company may see challenges ahead as it moves onto new frontiers. The next battleground could be South Africa's burgeoning consumer marketplace, and labor groups are watching nervously as the Biggest Box of All descends on Africa.

Wal-Mart plans to take control of South African counterpart MassMart, to build out Wal-Mart's emerging dominon in Asia and the Western Hemisphere. But unlike China and other Wal-Martized developing nations, South Africa is known for its militant labor movement.

When Wal-Mart was negotiating for a majority stake in MassMart, the South African Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers Union (SACCAWU) sprang into action. SACCAWU, which claims to represent most of Massmart's workers, warned that the mere prospect of the Mart-Merger has emboldened anti-union forces. . . .

Source link: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/12/04



Why can't we learn something from South African labor unions?