From the Readers

Unions essential for productivity

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-08-16 08:01

In a letter published in China Daily on Aug 9, Joseph Stevano said he was "appalled" by calls to make labor unions stronger. He even called upon history to say that the unions "paralyzed" England in the 1970s. If Stevano takes his history seriously then he should look at why labor unions were formed in the first place.

Labor unions originated in Europe during the Industrial Revolution, when factory owners were brutally exploiting workers. They made workers toil for incredibly long hours, and often mistreated and underpaid them.

China is in a somewhat similar situation as Europe was then: a situation in which employers amass huge amounts of wealth and exploit their workers, while the underpaid workers can do nothing to protect their rights and get their rightful wages.

This is a very dangerous situation that may eventually lead to strikes. In such situations, labor unions strike a balance between the interests of workers and company owners.

Most of the workers do not work because they like their work, but because they have no option but to toil to provide food, shelter, clothing and healthcare to their families. And every worker is entitled to these basic requirements.

Living expenses have gone up, but workers' wages have not. If this trend continues, workers may not be able to provide even the basic necessities to their families.

It is such situations that workers resort to strikes. The relative income of workers has gone down instead of increasing with the costs of living.

Contrary to people in England in the 1970s, these are not workers who have access to healthcare and can go on a holiday to other countries every year. Any comparison with the people in England in the 1970s is therefore misplaced.

Independent unions can help ensure that more and more workers are able to afford food and housing for their families. Unions help stabilize the social structure, and their efforts will be beneficial for the companies, too, as they will ensure a peaceful work environment and hence higher productivity.

Paul Schoe, via e-mail

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(China Daily 08/16/2010 page9)