Archive for 8 Energy Intensive Industries

The Labor Question in China: Apple and Beyond

Abstract This essay, by Ralph Litzinger,  introduces recent efforts by activists, NGOs, and academics to investigate and report on the working conditions for Chinese workers along Apple’s supply chain in China. Tracking the “suicide express” at the Foxconn factory complex in Shenzhen in 2010, the work of the Hong Kong–based activist labor organization Students and Scholars against Corporate Misbehavior, a coalition of environmental organizations headquartered in Beijing, and reporting by journalists, the essay shows how Apple was forced to go public about the myriad environmental, health, and labor problems in its outsourced factories. This essay also reflects on the theatrical activism and controversy surrounding Mike Daisey’s “The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs.” Finally, highlighting the arguments of the three contributions to this section, it shows how China’s new generation of workers is increasingly educated and gives voice to a range of desires and perspectives about the Chinese state, its relationship to global capital, and the ways of life, living, and labor for workers in the electronics industry.
Author Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior (SACOM), Ralph Litzinger,18 January 2013
Publisher
Link http://saq.dukejournals.org/content/112/1/172.full.pdf+html
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8 Energy Intensive Industries, 8.5.5 Electronics-Computers-Mobile Phones and Batteries

Incomplete List of Labor Unrest at Foxconn 2010-2013

Author Published online by friends of gongchao, March 2013, excerpt from the book Pun Ngai, Lu Huilin, Guo Yuhua, Shen Yuan: iSlaves. Ausbeutung und Widerstand in Chinas Foxconn-Fabriken (Exploitation and Resistance in China’s Foxconn-factories). Vienna, 2013
Publisher
Link http://www.gongchao.org/en/islaves-struggles/list-of-labor-unrest-at-foxconn/
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8 Energy Intensive Industries, 8.5.5 Electronics-Computers-Mobile Phones and Batteries

Global Appeal: Condemn Honda and the AFCTU Branch for Suppressing the Workers’ Strike!

Abstract Solidarity with Honda Workers’ Struggle for Higher Wages and Reorganization of the Shop Floor Trade Union To brothers and sisters in trade unions and civil society, and all friends who are concerned about the labor situation in China.
Author China Labour Net, 31 May 2010
Publisher
Link http://www.worldlabour.org/eng/node/348
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8 Energy Intensive Industries, 8.5.4 Automobile

Are We Going to Follow in the Footsteps of Our Parents?

Abstract A Post 80’s Generation Honda Worker Speaks Out. Honda is a Fortune 500 company! It earned more than 4 billion yuan last year! It earned more than a billion the year before that! Let’s compare Honda with other businesses. But none can really compare with it! This is a Fortune 500 company which earned more than 4 billion in 2009 but only pays minimum wages to workers.
Author China Labour Net, 02 June 2010
Publisher
Link http://www.worldlabour.org/eng/node/357
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8 Energy Intensive Industries, 8.5.4 Automobile

Honda Workers Strike for Labour Rights and Trade Union Representation

Abstract Striking Honda workers in Foshan, Guangdong Province have shown incredible courage and determination in their fight to demand higher wages. Workers have now been on strike for more than two weeks. Strike action initially began on May 17th when more than 100 workers went on strike. This was followed up by two strikes on May 21st which resulted in Honda management retaliating and dismissing two of the leading workers. The following day the whole factory went out and began a strike which has seen the stoppage of all Honda’s production in China.
Author Bai Ruixue, China Labour Net, 06 June 2010
Publisher
Link http://www.worldlabour.org/eng/node/363
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8 Energy Intensive Industries, 8.5.4 Automobile

Special Report on the Honda Fonshan Strike

Abstract In May 2010, about 1800 workers from the Honda Auto Parts Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (CHAM) staged a strike to demand higher wages and the reform of the enterprise trade union. This strike caused disruption not only to the production of CHAM, but also to three other Honda branches in China. At the beginning, the company tried to suppress the strike with the help of the party-affiliated trade unions and the local government, but this was to no avail. Workers were very persistent in the pursuit of their legitimate demands and in the end the company  bowed to pressure and entered into negotiation with workers’ representatives, who were democratically elected during the strike. In the negotiation, the company agreed to raise the monthly wages of formal workers and student interns by 32.4% and 70% respectively. Highlights of this strike are captured in this report.
Author Globalization Monitor, 15 June 2010
Publisher
Link http://www.worldlabour.org/eng/files/u1/pecial_Report_on_Honda_Strike_gm_june2010_1_.pdf
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8 Energy Intensive Industries, 8.5.4 Automobile

Auto Industry Strikes in China

Abstract Between May and July of this year a series of high-profile strikes in foreign-owned auto parts plants spread throughout China’s coastal regions. Strikes in China are nothing new, but the recent strike wave was remarkable in at least three respects: the amount of concessions granted to workers; the degree of publicity it initially received in the Chinese media; and the prospects for showcase union reform that it has helped push onto the agenda. Although the strikes were directed primarily at unfair wages, there were some attempts to address the more political question of union representation. Workers that I spoke with who had participated in strikes at Honda factories had clearly been politicized by the events and were well aware of strikes occurring throughout China’s auto industry.
Author Lance Carter, 30 October 2010
Publisher
Link http://chinastudygroup.net/2010/10/auto-industry-strikes-in-china/
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8 Energy Intensive Industries, 8.5.4 Automobile

Open Letter from the Delegation of Representatives of the Honda Strike Workers for Negotiation

Abstract Workers in Honda Auto Parts Manufacturing Co., Ltd. of Foshan City started to resume work on a conditional basis in the evening of 1 June.  The resumption of work was a result of the mediation of members of the National People’s Congress and Mr. Zhang Qinghong, Deputy Director and General Manager of Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., Ltd.  We agree to temporary resumption of work for three days on the condition that the management shall provide satisfactory answers to our demands.  Otherwise, the strike action will continue.  In the presence of Mr. Zheng Qinghong and representatives of the upper level trade union as observers, workers of Honda Auto Parts Manufacturing Co., Ltd elected 16 representatives. The representatives held the first meeting right after the election. In the meeting, we demanded explanations from the trade union for the beating of workers by the trade union officers. We also reiterated our fundamental demands namely, salary increment by RMB800 for the whole workforce including the intern workers; improvement in the wage structure and job promotion mechanism; and last but not least, re-structuring of the branch trade union in Honda Auto Parts Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Another fundamental demand we made was the commitment of the management to non-retaliation and no dismissal of workers participating in the strike. These demands were accepted by the General Manager of Guagnzhou Automobile Group Co Ltd, Mr. Yamada Ichiho山田一穗 in the morning of 1 June. The night shift workers started to resume work in the evening on the same day. The worker representatives contacted Mr. Zheng Qinghong again on 2 June and the first meeting with the management after the resumption of work took place at 2pm on 3 June.
Author ITUC/GUF Hong Kong Liaison Office (IHLO)
Publisher
Link http://www.ihlo.org/LRC/WC/030610.html
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8 Energy Intensive Industries, 8.5.4 Automobile

Appendix Three: Policies of the Chinese Government on the Automobile Industry

Abstract Contains information about the State Council Policy on the Automobile Industry Promulgated on 12 March 1994; and the State Council Policy on the Automobile Industry Promulgated on 12 March 2004.

 
Author ITUC/GUF Hong Kong Liaison Office (IHLO)
Publisher
Link http://www.ihlo.org/LRC/W/000710c.html
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8 Energy Intensive Industries, 8.5.4 Automobile

Appendix Two: The Automobile Strategy of the Guangdong Government and the Guangdong Automobile Group

Abstract In 2005 the Guangdong provincial government launched the Plan for the Development of the Nine Pillar Industries in Guangdong Province (2005-2010). The grand development plan aims at re-structuring the industrial base of the province for capital and technology-intensive industries in the secondary and tertiary sector. The pillar industries include: information technology, electrical machinery, chemicals, textile and garment, food processing, construction materials, pulp and paper, pharmaceuticals and automobile. The plan sets the target of achieving an annual growth rate of 18% between 2005-2010 for these industries to reach total industrial value of 5160 billion yuan and 77.6% share of the province’s total industrial value.
Author ITUC/GUF Hong Kong Liaison Office (IHLO)
Publisher
Link http://www.ihlo.org/LRC/W/000710b.html
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8 Energy Intensive Industries, 8.5.4 Automobile