Chinese independent trade union movement finds Cisl support

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Italy’s Cisl trade union confederation supports the Chinese independent trade union movement. A meeting between Cisl secretary general, Savino Pezzotta, and Hang Dongfung is schedule for the end of 2005 in Hong Kong.

Savino Pezzotta, secretary general of Italy’s second largest trade union confederation, the Confederation of Workers’ Unions (Confederazine Italiana Sindacati Lavoratori, Cisl), in a recent interview on il Sole 24 Ore, on 12 August 2005, re-launched its support to the organisation of Han Dongfang, former railwayman and leader of the movement for the creation of a Chinese free trade union.

Han Dongfang tried to set up a Chinese independent trade union, called the Federation of Independent Workers, for the first time in 1989. This attempt cost to Mr Dongfang two years of prison and the exile from his country. In 1994 Han Dongfang resumed his activity of independent trade unionist in Hong Kong and founded the China Labour Bulletin (CLB) . In 1997, from the microphones of Radio Free Asia, he started broadcasting a programme on workers’ rights with the aim of laying the basis for the creation of a Chinese independent trade union. At present Han Dongfand persists in the achievement of his objective through the radio and through the CLB website thanks to which he manages to provide information and legal assistance to Chinese workers and to their families.

Cecilia Brighi, of Cisl international department, met Han Dongfang more than once and defined his radio programme 'a veritable workers’ emergency room useful to all Chineses who want to take part in or organise a strike and who want to defend themselves from severe workers’ rights violation'.

The Cisl trade union confederation has been supporting Han Dongfang movement, from a financial point of view, for quite a while. Mr Pezzotta will meet Mr Dognfang at the end of 2005 in Hong Kong to 'provide Cisl’s support and help to the movement for the creation of a Chinese independent trade union'.

In China there is already a trade union, the Chinese trade union federation but it is controlled by the Communist party. According to Savino Pezzotta 'the Federation is a government-controlled trade union which shall not be recognised and the other union organisations shall have no contacts with it. The contrary would mean the mortification of Han’s activites'.Valeria Fedeli, secretary general of the Cgil textile sectoral organisation has a different opinion. According to Mrs Fedeli the dialogue with the Chinese federation - even if in the awareness that it is not a free trade union - is necessary to win the challenge of workers’ information. 'The intent is to distribute to the workers of the European companies which have de-localised in China, the code of conducts signed at European level in order to make public the minimum environmental and social rights'.

The impact of Chinese production, from the point of view of competition, and unfair competition in particular, is a well-known problem: dumping, counterfeit products, low labour costs. The European companies delocalise or shut down their businesses hit by this kind of competition. 'The Chinese government'- said Han Dongfang 'accepts foreign investment money but not the freedom and workers’ rights'. According to Han Dongfang 'the deny of freedom can also become an economic factor which could lead to instability. The Chinese economic reforms have achieved several objectives but economic and social justice were not among them. The lack of workers’ representatives is probably the main case of instability in today’s Chine'.

Han Dongfang, said Cecilia Brighi, 'despite the official Chine trade union is not independent from companies, in his radio programme, always suggests to workers to address directly the Chinese Federation in order to remind it of its tasks'.

Thanks to the initiative of the Cisl trade union confederation the support to the Chinese free trade union movement could become an objective of the entire European trade union movement.

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