How much am I worth?
Liu Yunyun

While workers at Wal-Mart China, a subsidiary of the U.S. retailing giant, struggled to set up their first trade union, employees of many companies in Nanjing have been able to negotiate salary increases with their bosses for the past several years. The workers at Kumho Tire Co., for example, have seen their average salary nearly double to more than 31,000 yuan in 2006 from 16,000 yuan in 1999 “after arduous salary negotiations year after year,” said Wu Songping, head of the trade union at the Korean company.
In the past, nearly all state-owned enterprises in China had a trade union-involving all employees-which was in charge of workers’ welfare and appeals. The union’s administrative body, however, was typically appointed by the enterprise’s management. On holidays, the union would send gifts of daily necessities or supermarket coupons to its members; when an employee was sick, union representatives would visit him/her on behalf of the whole company; or, on special occasions, the union would organize small shows or activities for the employees.
“The old-fashioned concept of a trade union must be changed,” said Chen Siming, Chairman of the Nanjing Trade Union. “A trade union is much more than [a sponsor of] activities; it should be bound tightly with the workers’ real interest-salary.” Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu Province, was one of the first cities to initiate a collective salary negotiation mechanism. Under a trial regulation on the system for determining employee wages passed by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security in 2000, workers’ representatives and management representatives negotiate the salary distribution system and salary level on an equal basis and sign an agreement.
“Normally, we have five or six negotiators from each side,” said Zhang Niannian, a veteran salary negotiation instructor from the Nanjing union. Li Yuanguo, President of Nanjing Plastic Industry Co. Ltd. (NPIC), a private company, sounded relieved when asked about the functioning of the trade union in his company. “In the past, when employees were not satisfied with their salary and when they were not able to afford to go to the hospital, they would come to my office and argue with me,” Li said. “But after the trade union was established, the employees would rather turn to the trade union for help. It leaves me more time and energy to think about the development of the whole company instead of every trivial thing involving the workers.”
Discussing his rivals in salary negotiations, Li smiled and said, “The workers are very smart and they pick the most talented negotiators, which is very unusual compared with the past.” Li said that before 2004, NPIC was a state-owned enterprise, and all the administrative positions in the trade union were taken by the “goody-goodies”. They practically did nothing except send gifts on holidays and organize some activities. “Society changes, and the workers’ awareness of self-interest improves,” said Li.
Making bargaining successful
Chang Kai, labor professor at Renmin University of China, pointed out two requirements for a successful collective bargaining mechanism. “First, both sides in the negotiation should be independent; second, the negotiations should involve fair play.” Chang noted that for a long time, the directors of the majority of Chinese trade unions were appointed by the management and the trade union followed management’s decrees.
According to a random survey of enterprises in Nanjing conducted by the government involving 1,000 workers from 100 enterprises, about 20.8 percent of the employees surveyed received a salary of 600 yuan or less per month; 36.9 percent reported a monthly salary of 600 yuan to 1,000 yuan; 25.8 percent got a salary ranging from 1,000 yuan to 1,500 yuan; and only 16.5 percent of the respondents enjoyed a salary over 1,500 yuan. Chen Jiabao, Vice Mayor of Nanjing, noted that, “The per capita GDP of Nanjing City reached $4,000 in 2005, which is in sharp contrast to the average salary of ordinary employees.”
“Our survey showed that the major shareholders’ year-end bonus was as much as 24 times that of the average workers, and the monthly salary of the management was six or seven times more than that of the ordinary workers,” he continued. “This kind of sharp gap is unacceptable for ordinary workers,” said Chen. “Workers are the major productive force and it is they who create value for companies and should not be treated unfairly.”
One of the major reasons companies are reluctant to increase workers’ salaries is that they fear this will result in higher production costs and cause them to lose the competitive edge in pricing to their rivals. However, Song Zheng, Vice Chairman of the Trade Union of Nanjing City and a veteran economist, pointed out, “The increase in workers’ salary will enhance their purchasing power, which means they are able to buy more commodities. Therefore, from the perspective of the whole society, the increase in workers’ wages is conducive to the economy, in turn benefiting the company itself.”
Explaining further, Song said, “For instance, if a pair of Nike shoes is sold at 600 yuan with a cost of 200 yuan, a mere increase of 20 yuan-10 percent-in workers’ salaries is just a drop in the bucket.” But he said this “drop” can boost workers’ enthusiasm as well as their productivity. In return for management’s goodwill, workers will do their best to use innovative technology and reduce the cost of production.
As China’s economic reform deepens, the government has been reducing its role in corporate management and has switched its efforts to macro-control. Taking advantage of the loosened control, some companies tend to restrict workers’ salaries in order to achieve the maximum profit. Considering the problem, the labor and social security department of Nanjing will consider the collective bargaining mechanism an important part of its investigation and registration of a company labor contract.
At present, Nanjing runs a “harmonious enterprise” campaign on a yearly basis, involving foreign companies, domestic companies and joint ventures. An Erkang, a senior researcher at the China Management Academy of Sciences, noted that salary distribution is one of the core areas of the “game theory” strategy between employees and employers. But, An said, “Workers are generally disadvantaged and have no competitive edge in this game theory practice.”
Foreign-domestic dichotomy
In a world where the supply of talent far outpaces the demand, people hold firm in their jobs. Despite being eager to see a salary increase, employees dare not have a direct confrontation with their bosses. “Therefore, the government should guide them and enact favorable policies to guarantee the workers’ rights,” said An.
Qian Guanghao, an employee at Deltak Power Equipment (China) Co., has been involved in salary negotiations in the company. Asked why he dared to take the job and whether he feared being fired, he said, “Actually, after a worker is elected as a negotiator, he or she signs a three- or four-year contract with the company. In these three or four years, the company has no right to fire the negotiator.” In this way, negotiators can feel secure even amid a strong confrontation with the management. “If the negotiator does a good job, he or she can be re-elected for another term without being afraid of losing his job,” said Qian.
Fu Xiaojun, Assistant Director with the Public Relations Department of the Nanjing Trade Union, agreed. “The negotiators’ interest is fully protected by the trade union and relevant government departments.” In the meantime, the government must devote itself to promoting the quality of both employees and employers, and make both sides realize that their interests are bound together, experts say.
A labor contract draft law, aimed at thoroughly protecting workers’ interests, is now being deliberated by the government and is expected to take effect soon, despite harsh criticism from employers. “It has been easy to set up trade unions in state-owned enterprises-just issue an administrative order. It has always been difficult to set up trade unions in foreign companies,” said Xia Yinchun, Secretary General of the Nanjing Trade Union.
From the perspective of foreign companies such as Wal-Mart, however, trade unions are viewed negatively. A Wal-Mart public relations manager who requested anonymity said, “Our bosses from the United States have felt there is no need to set up a trade union, which seems like a divisive force in the whole company.” In Western countries, trade unions are sometimes a headache for management. Song of the Nanjing Trade Union said, “Workers care about their own interests without considering the overall performance of the company.” In Nanjing, however, workers are aware that “if I want to have my salary increased, I have to work hard,” he added.
At Kumho Tire, one of the first companies to adopt collective bargaining, the workers’ annual salary jumped to over 35,000 yuan in 2005 from a mere 16,000 yuan in 1999. “Our workers have the habit of seeing their income grow every year. If the salary remained the same as in the previous year, their enthusiasm for work would be hurt,” said Wu, the company union head.
Currently, the company faces enormous pressure from the workers’ call for salary increases and rising costs. Wu noted that the price of rubber has jumped to about 24,000 yuan per ton this year from 13,000 yuan several years ago. The company’s profitability is not as strong as it was before. Maintaining sound and sustained growth while not posing an unbearable burden on the company’s daily operations has become a nerve-racking problem for both the trade union and management.

(The Daily Mail-Beijing Review Articles Exchange Item)


The Third World War
Maham Shahid

The Globalization is condition defined by mutually assured dependence. To globalize your economy and your society, you must accept that the world will reshape your future far more than you can possibly hope to influence the world in return. The continuity of the past, where son followed father in occupation for generations, will in most cases end, with callous disregard for generation. Moreover, if you globalize, you will import from that world outside far more than you can possibly offer in return. While your culture will be added to globalization’s ever-evolving mosaic, your society will – in turn – be challenged to adopt to an amazing array of content flows (e.g.,) that come with globalization’s connectivity. “Proper” education). The same will hold true for the goods and services you can offer the world, which will pale in comparison with the products that will flood your market, challenging your producers and firms to adapt to a new competitive land-scape or die. Most important, while your influence regarding global rule sets will be small, globalization’s influence regarding our internal rule sets will be enormous. Infect, your importation and adoption of these global rule sets will be the main price you pay for leaving your disconnectedness behind.
All this sounds incredibly difficult, if not impossible, if one takes a look at all that what happened to the Muslim world or to the Third world, within twenty four hours after the 9 / 11. Impartiality that was the Sine quo non, for ensuring equilibrium in the world was purposely made to disappear. The intention was made absolutely clear by not adhering to the UN resolutions and the existing International law. The US, Zionism, and Nordics together invoke them only when these suited their interests. Every thing is for them, for their interests, for their well being, and for their rule across the globe to occupy Muslim’s resources, to deny oil particularly to China, for their indirect strategy as demonstrated against the Soviets in the 1980s, in Afghanistan, by working behind the mask every where, by playing in the hands of Trojan horses, by confronting the world with a never ending dilemma, by behaving like prophets of change; but what the world has come to witness since ‘9 / 11,’ that is pushing us fast enough to our doom – to humanity’s dead end. And instead of having flourishing markets of the Materialist capitalism’s Imperialism; and that now when they look at the beginning that began in the early 1990s, and see the entire panorama to date, that includes upper most the total destruction of Afghanistan, Iraq and the neighbouring countries of Israel, and friendship with Bhaba’s India, they tell themselves that under the circumstances that have overtaken them, there is going to be no “Second Ark of Noah”. One wonders, why vice President Dick- Cheney did not order the US air force to take on the planes that took at least an hour and about twenty minutes! Can some one provide a convincing answer? Then what should possibly be the answer? Was it what the Pentagon’s map has shown?
Experts say that the mark of true intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing concepts in your head at the same time, to understand the truth of each while realizing their differences. To my mind, the Core-Gap thesis challenges most people in the same way, forcing them to move beyond the usual pigeonholing arguments that define the Foreign Policy debates in our country today, like India, Europe, China and EU. Recognizing the Core Gap divide does not automatically place you in one political camp or the other, and since the strategies required to move states from the Gap to Core will invariably be multifaceted (e.g., military interventions, foreign aid, private – sector investments), arguments over how to shrink the Gap are equally difficult to classify. In this respect both Republican and the Democrats, have the / similar approach.
When the terrorists struck on 9/11, the world achieved koyaanisqatisi, and many things were thrown out of balance. Some one probably had followed the US constitution, which calls for “Destructive Chaos” whenever needed. Unless US ensures balance in its thought process, the ongoing historical war – probably the last war, would find each other unrecognizable. America never did go bankrupt, although it got close to it. By the time things may settle down, it would already have been divided in small / mini - states or counties, to be ruled directly by the Jewish Zionists. At least that is the aim or goal of its Rulers – the Zionists. Like Gorbachev and his wife, at least 63 Heads of State/Heads of Government of the Soviet Union were Zionists Jews, Brezhnev, A.N. Kosygin, MA Suslov and so on so forth. After reading the following books and periodicals one tends to automatically hesitate to believing in what the US Pentagon’s book tells the reader coming out with a new world map, swept by Zionism.
The world is caught up in a whirl pool / cobweb, invented by the fabrication and conspiracies of the Jewish Zionism. How many times will the US Veto any resolution that does not suit Zionism’s interests. The Third World should wake up before it is destroyed for manipulating Muslim’s resources which are gigantic and unprecedented and through which US can hope to subdue China and Russia both. India is already in their lap.
KAB TAK RAHE MAHKOOMI-e ANJAM MEIN MERI KHAK
YA MEIN NAHIN YA GARDASH – E AFLAAQ NAHIN HAI. (TRANSLATIN): How long will my dust remain subordinate to stars - either I am not there or the revolving of the heavenly stars. (Iqbal). But before we ever think of War - THE THIRD WORLD WAR, we must prepare ourselves. Otherwise, we shall suffer defeat as Mahmood Ghanzavi had to when he tried to invade India, in his first attempt. Then he came prepared and laid the Foundation stone of Muslim Empire in India. If we resort to unending slogan mongering, we shall face destruction in Toto. We forgot science and technology and we are still suffering at the hands of the West, for the last about 500 years. Above all we should follow “Unity, Faith, and Discipline” without wasting even a single moment of available time. This is not Middle ages, or for that matter 19th or 20th century. See what the world is up to in the early years of 21st century. The Youth should read, FACTS ARE FACTS, BY WALI KHAN OF WALI BAGH.
NA SAMJO GE TO MIT JAO GE DUNYA SE MUSALMANON
TUMHARI DASTAN TAK NA HO GI DAASTANON MEIN!
(Iqbal).

universal lessons of Haj
Faisal Kutty

Millions of pilgrims from all over the world will be converging on Makkah in the coming days. They will retrace the footsteps of millions who have made the spiritual journey to the valley of Makkah since the time of Adam. Haj literally means, “to continuously strive to reach one’s goal.” It is the last of the five pillars of Islam (the others include a declaration of faith in one God, five daily prayers, offering regular charity, and fasting during the month of Ramadan). Pilgrimage is a once-in-a-lifetime obligation for those who have the physical and financial ability to undertake the journey.
The Haj is essentially a re-enactment of the rituals of the great prophets and teachers of faith. Pilgrims symbolically relive the experience of exile and atonement undergone by Adam and Eve after they were expelled from Heaven, wandered the earth, met again and sought forgiveness in the valley of Makkah. They also retrace the frantic footsteps of the wife of Abraham, Hagar, as she ran between the hills of Safa and Marwa searching for water for her thirsty baby (which according to Muslim tradition, God answered with the well of Zam Zam). Lastly, the pilgrims also commemorate the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son for the sake of God. God later substituted a ram in place of his son. Yet, the Haj is more than these elaborate rituals. The faithful hope that it will bring about a deep spiritual transformation, one that will make him or her a better person. If such a change within does not occur, then the Haj was merely a physical and material exercise devoid of any spiritual significance.
As all great religions teach, we are more than mere physical creatures in that we possess an essence beyond the material world. Indeed, this is why all great religions have a tradition of pilgrimage. In the Islamic tradition, Haj encapsulates this spiritual journey toward this essence. The current state of affairs — both within and outside the Muslim world — greatly increases the relevance of some of the spiritual and universal messages inherent in the Haj. As Islamic scholar, Ebrahim Moosa, asks rhetorically: “After paying homage to the two women Eve and Hagar in the rites of pilgrimage, how can some Muslims still violate the rights and dignity of women in the name of Islam? Is this not a contradiction?”