Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Contribution #7 - Chapter 14

After reading through Chapter 14 I came across the Competing Through Sustainability article called “Employers in China Have Issues Shedding Workers.” This article talks about employers in China having issues in cost cutting, termination and redundancies. Landmark labor laws recently enacted in China have strengthened protection for workers, including wage standards and social security benefits. Chinese labor law prohibits “at will” firing practices which is very common in the United States. Employers must have a legal basis for firing any employee. Another important topic in this article is that going on strike is illegal in China. Although it is illegal, workers have been known to engage in work stoppages and slowdowns.

This article was interesting to read because some of the labor laws and practices in China are quite different from that in the United States. On occasion, employees in the United States will go on strike whether it be for a raise in wages or for unsatisfactory work conditions. Also, the “fire at will” practice is common in the United States. It would be interesting to see if that practice was outlawed and how companies would react and what they would do to downsize their workforce.

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