Deadline for foreign companies to get collective agreement

ACFTU
via WikipediaDeadlines have been given to 100 foreign companies in Shenzhen to get collective agreements with the only allowed Chinese trade union ACFTU in place, reports the China Daily. December 5 negotiations have to be finished, but the parties have start talking within ten days, counting from last Monday.

Zhang Youquan, director of the legal affairs department of the Shenzhen Federation of Trade Unions (SFTU), said at a press conference that the firms, which include McDonald's, Carrefour and Ikea, should start negotiations with their employees within 10 working days (of Monday).
The talks should encompass such issues as pay, working hours, paid vacation, social security and welfare, and agreement should be reached by Nov 14, he said.
Contracts should then be signed before Dec 5, he said.

Wal-Mart was the first to sign such a collective agreement, although that has not yet made everybody very happy. The coming months are rather crucial for the formation of the trade unions in China. Are they going to be yellow unions, working mainly as a management tool, or are they going to represent employees. The jury might not be back for a long time on this issue.

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