Strikes call for collective bargaining

• Source: Global Times
• [00:52 June 02 2010]
• Comments

Workers in the developed world, used to generous welfare packages, respond with strikes when their benefits are cut and negotiations break down. Detroit knows that well.

And not all strikes receive the support of the public. The New York subway strike ended within days under enormous public condemnation due to the huge disruption it caused.

The temporary stoppage of production lines in the four Honda factories, at a time of increasing market demand for Japanese-brand cars, highlights the necessity of organized labor protection in Chinese factories.

After the news broke out, public opinion called for the government to better regulate the company. The incident underlines the embarrassing lack of a worker's union that would serve as a collective wage bargaining channel.

Nobody wants to see wage disputes turn into strikes. There is too much potential for damage to public interests, not to mention the possibility of violent confrontations.

A consultative mechanism is needed to bridge the gap between laborers and their employers. Workers' unions must not be absent from such a mechanism.