Products made by a
disenfranchised labor force

Admittedly, many of the Made in China products we see on the shelves of Walmart or Toys'R Us are not manufactured in forced labor camps or by the Chinese military. They are made by ordinary Chinese workers. So what's wrong with that, you may ask? The issue is that workers in China are not free. They do not have the right to organize, to form unions, and hence to bargain, negotiate, and most of all to strike. All these actions are absolutely illegal, and punishable by lengthy terms in forced labor camps and even by the death penalty.

In theory, virtually all industrial workers in China belong to labor unions. In reality, these are government-run organizations, their leaders chosen by the Communist Party. Instead of representing the rights and interests of the workers, these official unions "serve to control workers by playing the part of hired thugs and public security in workplaces" according to China Rights Forum in New York.

The Communist Party's biggest fear is the rise of an independent workers movement. The Democracy Movement of 1989 saw the formation of the Workers' Autonomous Federation in Beijing, which quickly spread across the country at a surprising rate. During the subsequent Tiananmen massacre many of those killed were workers and labor activists, and in the ensuing mopping-up many more were arrested and many executed. Some executions were broadcasted on national television. But from then on, the idea of independent labor unions that would represent the interests of their members began to gain currency. Since 1989, in increasing numbers influential dissident actions within China have raised the issue of labor rights. Unfortunately, these voices are still weak and the authorities have shown a remarkable ferocity in cracking down on even seminal labor groups.5

In May 1992, sixteen organizers of the clandestine "Free Labor Union of China" were arrested in Beijing. This organization had printed various materials that exposed the way Chinese workers were deceived and oppressed. Moreover, the organization had appealed to workers to organize in their places of work and to struggle to protect their interests against the government and big business. In 1994, this group of people received prison sentences ranging from seven to twenty years.

In 1994, the "League for the Protection of the Rights of Working People" first appeared in Beijing. All the founders were arrested after they openly tried to register their group with the government. Many in that group are still in custody while other principal members were forced to escape overseas into exile. In addition, many people, even peripherally involved with the organization, have been harassed and intimidated. Such arrests, beatings and torture of labor activists are, in fact, worsening . In May 1994, three workers were arrested in Shenzhen after they applied to register a workers' night school and a newsletter called LABORING PEOPLE'S BULLETIN. Their whereabouts remain unknown to this day.

One of the main reasons why industries in the West are so enthusiastic about relocating factories to China is probably because labor in China is not unionized. For instance, equally cheap labor is available in a country like India, where the additional advantage of an English speaking managerial force (and even English speaking labor to some extent) is available. Furthermore, in terms of productivity, technological and managerial skills, business environment, recessionary expectations, exchange-rate stability, bank solvency, etc., India ranks significantly higher than China, as determined by THE GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS REPORT 2000, released by the World Economic Forum and Harvard University which placed India in the 37th position, while China's ranking was 44th. The well-known inertia of the Indian bureaucracy is certainly a disincentive for international investors, but that is more than matched by the corruption and capriciousness of Chinese Communist party cadres. Therefore, it would appear that from the point of view of industry, India's essential drawback is that it is a democracy where independent courts and independent labor unions protect the rights of the working men and women.

Yet, in spite of harsh government crackdowns and punishment of individual workers, demonstrations and strikes by workers in industry are definitely on the rise in China. THE CHINA LABOR BULLETIN, ISSUE NO. 57, November-December 2000, reports that "In recent years, many foreign-invested, collective and private enterprises have been in arrears in the payment of wages, and have furthermore faced a mounting burden from paying retirement pensions. As a result, they have forced workers to work overtime without pay and this has resulted in increasingly frequent strikes and demonstrations." But these were eventually suppressed by coordinated action by the government and employers. Abuse and exploitation of workers is common even in foreign owned and run factories. In certain plants owned by Taiwanese and Koreans, corporal punishment is common. Girls in these factories work twelve hours shifts with only two days leave in a month, and sleep eight to ten crammed in a dormitory room, which is locked at night. Talking is forbidden on the shop floor, and to go to the toilet or drink a glass of water requires a permission card. Sexual harassment is common and punishment of uncooperative workers can involve beating, confinement or cancellation of wages. Arriving late can mean half-a-day's wages docked.

A detailed study of such exploitation of Chinese labor has appeared in a book6 by Professor Anita Chan, one the world's foremost experts on Chinese employment relations. The many case studies, with substantive analysis, covers abuses in a wide variety of settings: state enterprises, urban collectives, township and village enterprises, domestic private enterprises, and foreign funded enterprises. The cases include urban workers, migrant workers from the countryside, and workers who are sent to work outside of China. Besides the praises of eminent Sinologists, labor experts, and economists, John Sweeney, President, AFL-CIO, had this to say of Anita Chan's book: "What is so vividly portrayed in the true stories Dr. Chan has collected is deeply disturbing, for it paints a world of extreme exploitation and little hope. For all of the believers in unbridled, free-market economic reform as the only path for China's economic salvation, this book is a must read."

A recent report published by The NEW YORK TIMES on February 9, 2001, details the case of a labor activist, Cao Maobing, who was the spokesman for several hundred angry workers at the Funing County Silk Mill in Jiansu Province. The mill had laid off many employees but had failed to pay required stipends and pensions. The workers accused management of corruption, and the government-run union of collusion, and declared their intentions of forming an independent labor union. Mr. Cao was then forcibly taken by police to No. 4 Psychiatric Hospital in Yancheng, where, diagnosed as suffering from "paranoid psychosis," he remains in strict custody and has been medicated and forced to undergo electroshock therapy.

The increasing tendency of Chinese workers to go on strike even though they would be severely punished, clearly demonstrates their willingness to make hard economic and personal sacrifices for their legitimate rights. Therefore, the oft-repeated contention in the West, that the Chinese people are satisfied living in a repressive state and only interested in their immediate economic condition, is demonstrably untrue. If desperate workers are going on strike, without the benefit of unions and strike funds, and when striking is illegal and punishable to the extreme extent of the law, then it is evident that workers in China will approve and endorse any action (like an international boycott of Chinese goods) from the free world that though, possibly causing temporary hardships, is clearly aimed in the long run at helping Chinese workers to secure the rights enjoyed by labor in the free world.

A clear example of international economic boycotts or sanctions genuinely benefiting a suppressed labor movement is the example of Poland, when the USA led the way in imposing economic penalties on Poland after the Communist government in 1981 banned the Solidarity movement and arrested about 30,000 Solidarity members. The liberalization in Poland that brought about an end to the Communist regime was prompted in significant part by Poland's desire to get rid of the sanctions.

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