Mutli-Stakeholder Collaboration for Worker Participation in China

Responsible supply chain management—Workshop on methods and strategies

Report from SwedWatch, Sustainability Research Group, and MakeITfair

26 October 2009

Stockholm School of Economics

Stockholm, Sweden

Page 14

Worker training in China – the HP case

Jenny Chan from SACOM spoke about the importance of multi-stakeholder initiatives in order to enhance workers’ participation. With the campaigns “Clean up your computer” and “High-tech, no rights?,” SACOM entered in 2007 a strategic collaboration with HP aiming at abolishing abuses on workers. The cornerstone of the campaign was to develop labour rights training programs for HP suppliers in China. The collaboration aimed at making workers more visible and moving away from naming and shaming towards collaboration.

SACOM’s experience is that autonomy and independence from company structures are essential to maintain workers trust. HP has been engaging with SACOM’s local NGO partners in constructive dialogue and is keeping on training middle-lower level managers on wages, working hours and labour rights. A hotline service has also been set up to answer questions related to workers’ practical situation such as water supply in dorms, rights when resigning, safety, health etc.

Through these initiatives workers have expressed that they are feeling more empowered, transparency and accountability has increased, and that important channels for communication to understand workers’ issues have been created. Workers training can lead to enhancing workers’ participation, but it is vital to open up the dialogue and invite companies to participate in this work in order to be successful.

NEWS REPORTS:

John Sexton. 22 October 2009. New War of the Flea: CSR and Labor Activism in China. China.org.cn.

In English

http://www.china.org.cn/china/2009-10/22/content_18750629.htm

In Chinese translation [Part I] http://www.china.org.cn/learning_english/2009-10/29/content_18793776_2.htm

In Chinese translation [Part II] http://www.china.org.cn/learning_english/2009-10/30/content_18801902.htm

Jonathan Adams and Kathleen E. McLaughlin. 17 November 2009. Special Report: Silicon Sweatshops. GlobalPost. http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/china-taiwan/091103/silicon-sweatshops-globalpost-investigation.