Walmart Workers in China

Transcript of the comments given by Anita Chan on September 29, 2008 at a discussion on Walmart workers sponsored by the ILRF and the National Labor College. Ms. Chan is a scholar at the Australian National University

Walmart in China

[Excerpt] What happens when the world\u27s largest corporation encounters the world\u27s biggest country? There are two areas of special interest — the impact of the Walmart supply chain, including the impact on the Chinese workers who manufacture Walmart products; and separately, Walmart\u27s retail business and its brand of management practices when imported across cultures into the Walmart supercenters inside China. In both respects, has Walmart succeeded in a Walmartization of China

Chinese Workers in Comparative Perspective

[Excerpt] As the “world’s factory” China exerts an enormous pressure on workers around the world. Many nations have had to adjust to a new global political and economic reality, and so has China. Its workers and its official trade union federation have had to contend with rapid changes in industrial relations. Anita Chan argues that Chinese labor is too often viewed from a prism of exceptionalism and too rarely examined comparatively, even though valuable insights can be derived by analyzing China’s workforce and labor relations side by side with the systems of other nations. The contributors to Chinese Workers in Comparative Perspective compare labor issues in China with those in the United States, Australia, Japan, India, Pakistan, Germany, Russia, Vietnam, and Taiwan. They also draw contrasts among different types of workplaces within China. The chapters address labor regimes and standards, describe efforts to reshape industrial relations to improve the circumstances of workers, and compare historical and structural developments in China and other industrial relations systems

Coding Free Software, Coding Free States: Free Software Legislation and the Politics of Code in Peru

Referee

Chinese-speaking women's experiences in the postnatal period in Australia: An exploratory study

In today's contemporary world, postnatal women of Chinese ancestry still adhere to the traditional health beliefs and practices of postnatal care. Chinese-speaking people refer to these health beliefs and practices as "Zuo Yuezi" which can be interpreted as "Sitting Out for the Month" or "Doing the Month". The purpose of this study was to explore Chinese women's postnatal experiences in Australia and to find out: (i) whether Chinese women pursue traditional Chinese beliefs and practices in the postnatal period; (ii) why they pursue them; and (iii) what factors facilitated and impeded their practices. Findings show that Chinese women still adhere to traditional postnatal practices to varying degrees after migration. They pursue these practices not only because of apparent physical health reasons, but also for psychosocial reasons. In addition, it was identified that the successful practices depend greatly on the health providers' interpretation of health, their attitudes and style of communication and the availability of support

Ching Kwan Lee, Against the Law: Labor Protests in China’s Rustbelt and Sunbelt, Berkeley, University of California Press, 2007, 326 p.

ANITA CHAN Ce livre, qui est le premier à faire le point de manière complète sur les conditions de travail en Chine depuis les réformes économiques entamées il y a presque 30 ans, aborde de façon équilibrée les cas des ouvriers dans les entreprises d’État et des travailleurs migrants. Il est bien documenté et fourmille de détails intéressants et d’anecdotes personnelles relatifs à la situation critique qui touche ces travailleurs chinois laissés dans l’ornière par la politique d’industrialisa..

Toujours plus bas !

En novembre 2001, le gouvernement chinois a célébré son accession à l’Organisation mondiale du commerce (OMC). Pour Pékin, l’intégration à l’économie internationale était grosse de promesses quant à la poursuite d’un développement sur la voie de la prospérité. Cette intégration n’était pas dénuée d’aléas, puisque certains secteurs de l’industrie et l’agriculture, et par conséquent l’emploi, seraient sérieusement affectés. Mais de manière générale, c’était une certitude, la Chine y gagnerait. ..