Wal-Mart forces trade union chair out

via WikipediaGao Haitao, a trade union leader at Wal-Mart, has resigned from his position as chair of his branch over a conflict with the US retailer over collective contract negotiations, reports the China Labor News Translations.

Disappointing news emerged on 17 September, that Gao Haitao – the only known Wal-Mart trade union leader to have actively stood up for his members’ interests, and the hero of Wal-Mart workers in the nation – has resigned from his position out of frustration over Wal-Mart’s refusal to enter into genuine collective bargaining.

Wal-Mart has been trying to use a meagre collective contract with the ACFTU (meagre for the workers that is) as a template for all the other branches. Gao suggested changes in that template, but Wal-Mart claimed that the original contract was valid for all its branches, since it was approved by the ACFTU-leadership.
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