Expansion of commerce multinationals in Asia challenges UNI Commerce to build union membership and social dialogue

Nowhere else are the huge global multinational traders spreading as fast as in Asia. December 11 will be an important date for their further expansion, as China's agreement with the World Trade Organisation opens up for unrestricted foreign investment in retail trade. Until now, the foreign traders have had to operate in joint ventures with Chinese companies. There have also been some restriction on the maximum number of stores.

Carrefour, Wal-Mart, Metro, Tesco and others have already announced ambitious plans for further growth on the Chinese market. Carrefour will soon become China's largest trader, and Wal-Mart has announced that it intends to build up its presence very fast. By the end of this year, there will be 43 Wal-Marts in China, and next year will see 15 new ones opened. Carrefour will operate 59 hypermarkets by the end of this year, and add another 10 to 15 in 2005.

At a recent meeting in Cebu in the Philippines, UNI's Asian and Pacific commerce sector discussed the union response to the fast expansion of these huge traders all over the region. Organising was of course the number one item. And indeed, there have been important successes for many unions in this region.

Global problems require global solutions

- The challenge is to protect and advance workers' rights within this global scenario, said UNI Apro Commerce president Ian Blandthorn of SDA, Australia. - Global problems require global solutions. Only organised and united action by the trade union movement can successfully advance workers' rights in this global economy.

Several country reports confirmed Ian's views and showed that organising and union development activities are successfully on their way.

Sugeng Wahyudi is the president of the Commerce Sector of ASPEK and of the Hero Supermarket Trade Union in Indonesia. His union has organised most of the over 10,000 workers of this Dairy Farm owned company, and initiated successful collective bargaining negotiations. Also Carrefour Indonesia is covered by ASPEK, as well as other important employers.

Five years ago, the Indonesian commercial workers in the Hong Kong owned Hero Supermarket Company started to create a new trade union. One year later, they affiliated to ASPEK, a union created with the support of UNI Apro. A substantial part of the 10,000 workers of this Dairy Farm owned company are now unionised, and were some years ago joined by Carrefour workers as well.

In Thailand, more than two hundred distribution centre workers established a new trade union in Tesco Lotus. The process of union building has not been easy, but the new organisation has indeed grown and established a stable presence in the company. UNI Commerce has approached Tesco to ensure that trade union rights are respected by the local management, and continues to monitor developments.

Remarkable success story in Nepal

In Nepal, young women workers have built up a commerce trade union from zero to over 6,000 members, within one year only. -...we started to contact commercial workers through their friends, relatives and teachers with the previous commitment of not disclosing their meeting with us, said Sharmila Pandey, the young coordinator of the Nepal Commercial & Sales Employees Federation. Very fast, the organisers were able to collect the 5,000 signatures required to establish a union, defying all 'conventional wisdom' about how it is impossible to organise when employers are strongly suspicious and negative.

In Mongolia, organising and union building is also on its way, as well as in a number of other countries in the Asian and Pacific region.

Normalisation on its way in Carrefour Korea labour relations

South Korea, one of the largest countries in the whole region, has an established commerce trade union. An important part of it is the union in Carrefour, which has gone through a series of very troubled years.

Kim Kyoung Wook is the new dynamic president of the Carrefour Korea trade union. His task to set up a new beginning for more constructive labour relations, together with Carrefour's equally new country director Philippe Broianigo, will not be a very easy one. Years of strife and repression by middle management has taken its toll also on confidence.

UNI Commerce is now trying to support a process where solutions can be found to the most serious labour relations problems and where the forthcoming collective agreement round can start a fast improvement of employment and working conditions.

Signs are, indeed, that a real process is on its way to allow for a new start in relations in the very near future.

The lack of understanding by local management that they need to respect the trade union rights of their Korean workers created a highly conflictuous situation, which UNI Commerce is now dismantling together with the company's central management. The new country manager for Korea has sent positive signals and taken steps towards a normalisation, and has got a positive response from the union. The next round of collective bargaining, which is due to start very soon, is expected to bring about many improvements for the workers.

UNI Commerce is now preparing an organising project to target not only Carrefour, but also Tesco Samsung and Wal-Mart, in Korea.

China will be the next huge challenge for UNI Commerce

China will be the big challenge for UNI Commerce in this region. The UNI Commerce meeting in Nyon last week asked the global trade union for commercial workers to ensure that China be fully included in the efforts to organise, to gain trade union recognition, to conduct a social dialogue and to conclude collective agreements.

A UNI delegation will visit the country in the near future, and UNI Commerce has started discussions with some leading multinationals about a project cooperation. The aim is to ensure that their Chinese workers are engaged in a genuine social dialogue with management, on the workplace level. This would also allow the social partners, including UNI Commerce, to establish that the companies apply the fundamental ILO Conventions and offer their workers decent wages and good employment and working conditions.