12 August, 2008Progress for workers falls short of China's 2001 pledge to improve labour rights, activists still face forced-labour camps, detention without trial, and state executions.
CHINA: In the build up to the July 13, 2001 decision to grant Beijing the honour to host the 2008 Olympics, China pledged to improve its abysmal human and labour rights record. As the world turns its gaze to the Olympians gathered in China's magnificent capital, it is important to also direct attention to what improvements, if any, have been realized for labour rights activists in the last seven years.
In June 2007, China passed new labour law addressing the needs of contract workers. The legislation, which went into effect January 2008, stipulated that employment contracts must be put in writing within one month of employment and that employers are obligated to fully inform workers about their jobs, the working conditions and compensation. It also put a limit on the ability of employers to use temporary laborers. While many see this as very positive step, the full impact of the new law remains to be seen. China has many laws that protect the rights of workers on paper, however real legislative gains for workers will depend on the government's willingness to enforce such laws.
In May 2006, Beijing extended use of a system of detention without trial called Re-education Through Labour. Implemented in the mid-1950s, people are sent to forced- labour camps, many of them political dissidents. Re-education can mean detention of up to four years usually under extreme conditions and often involving torture. The actual number of people in Re-education is unknown, however Amnesty International suspects hundreds of thousands.
While official numbers remain a state secret, reports indicate a drop in the number of executions since 2001. Still, China is the world leader in state executions. And while in March 2004, China amended its Constitution to include the clause: "the State respects and protects human rights", new prisoners of conscious have been given hefty prison sentences, a large number of them labour rights activists and workers attempting to form independent unions outside the official union body, the All China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU).
Known labour rights activists imprisoned since China's pledge to improve human rights includes:
Chen Yuping (jailed May 2008)
Former worker of the Jilin state-owned petroleum corporation was sentenced to re-education through labour for one and a half years for organising an independent trade union. More
Li Guohong (sent to Re-education November 2007)
Laid off worker representative from the China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) was sent to Re-education camp for one and a half years for seeking adequate compensation for 10,000 laid-off workers. More
Zhou Yuanwu (jailed May 2007)
Former worker at Jingchu Brewery who led several protests to win unpaid pension and medical insurance for laid-off workers was sentenced to two and a half years in prison. More
Ding Xiulan and Liu Meifeng (jailed October 2004)
Ding and Liu, both workers at the Zhongheng Textile Factory led laid-off factory workers to stage protests demanding compensation following privatization of the former state-owned enterprise. Both Ding and Liu were arrested for "assembling to disturb social order". More
Ning Xianhua (jailed September 2004)
A construction worker sentenced to 12 years imprisonment for attempting to organise an independent trade union. More
Wang Sen (jailed 2002)
Metalworker from Dazhou Steel sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment for organizing a public demonstration demanding payment of unpaid wages. More
Yao Fuxin (jailed January 2003)
Metalworker at Liaoyang Steel Rolling Factory sentenced to seven years for helping to lead 17,000 laid-off steelworkers in demonstrations protesting company corruption and demanding owed benefits. More
Li Wangyang (jailed September 2001)
Worker rights activist sentenced to 10 years for protesting inhumane prison conditions suffered during a 13 year prison sentence for leading worker strikes in 1989. More
Prisoner information source: China Labour Bulletin (Updated June 4, 2008)