The case of Ole Wolff (Yantai) Electronics Ltd

This case of unusual rank and file union activism in China can be seen as both good and bad news.

The good news is that, in the North-Eastern Chinese port city of Yantai there are workers’ willing to struggle for two years for their right to form their own union that will stand up for their rights. The bad news is that this struggle has taken a heavy toll on union activists, at least seven of whom have been fired because of their union activity as part of a persistent and illegal union busting campaign by the company. The company in question is Ole Wolff (Yantai) Electronics Ltd, a Hong Kong and Danish co-owned company that produces cell phone speakers, receivers and other electronic productions. Ole Wolff Yantai is owned by Ole Wolff (Asia) in Hong Kong, and the latter in turn owned by Ole Wolff Electronics.

Also unprecedented is that these activists have directly sought help from a foreign trade union, in this case a few Danish trade unions. Almost unbelievable is that *the story of this protracted struggle has been widely covered sympathetically by the local media, the ACFTU’s Workers’ Daily, China Central Television and Central People’s Radio in Shandong Province and OWYTU’s own excellent website.

CLNT has translated numerous accounts of the brave and persistent activism on the part of OWYTU leaders, to assist international trade unions – especially from Denmark – rally together in solidarity with trade union activists at Ole Wolff.

A rare case of rank and file union activism

China is notorious for its “yellow unions”, bureaucratic entities affiliated with the official All China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU), more interested in maintaining harmonious relations with management than representing the interests of workers.

However the Ole Wolff (Yantai) Trade Union (OWYTU) is different. Ole Wolff workers themselves applied to establish the union after 67 women workers were fired in 2006 for complaining to the local Labor Department about sudden reduction in their wages, and the company’s refusal to sign employment contracts. Ole Wolff Yantai refused to acknowledge the OWYTU, so in September 2006 workers went on strike for 13 days.

The OWYTU was successfully established one month later, making it, in workers’ own words, “the first Chinese trade union to be set up through strike.” The OWYTU has taken a confrontational stance towards both the company and the local union branch. It describes itself boldly as a “red union” (chise gonghui) (i.e. Socialist) while dismissing the ACFTU as a “yellow union” (huangse gonghui).

On the union’s internet blog is a feisty article, entitled: “Where there’s oppression, there will be resistance!” (Nali you yapo, nail jiu you fankang!) In China, such militant language is very rarely heard in trade union circles.

Even though the OWYTU was successfully established in October 2006, what followed was an unbelievable string of union-busting attacks from the company. Union activists have reported an incredible number of threats against them – too many to list here, and so we instead direct readers to the following chronology of events compiled by the OWYTU on its internet blog translated by Globalization Monitor in Hong Kong.

http://www.clntranslations.org/article/35/workers-fight-to-save-their-union-activists

See also these reports; from Labor is not a commodity Talking about China
http://laborrightsblog.typepad.com/international_labor_right/china/

On China’s new labor laws in 2007 to may 2008 see the report on this site.

For the update on implementing the details of the new employment contracts see this report

http://laborrightsblog.typepad.com/international_labor_right/2008/09/implementing-gu.html#more

No related posts.