Labour laws, labour code or employment laws are those that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions, and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship between employee, employer, and union.
Collective bargaining is a process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at agreements to regulate working salaries, working conditions, benefits, and other aspects of workers' compensation and rights for workers. The interests of the employees are commonly presented by representatives of a trade union to which the employees belong. A collective agreement reached by these negotiations functions as a labour contract between an employer and one or more unions, and typically establishes terms regarding wage scales, working hours, training, health and safety, overtime, grievance mechanisms, and rights to participate in workplace or company affairs. Such agreements can also include 'productivity bargaining' in which workers agree to changes to working practices in return for higher pay or greater job security.
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd., trading as Hon Hai Technology Group in China and Taiwan and Foxconn internationally, is a Taiwanese multinational electronics contract manufacturer established in 1974 with headquarters in Tucheng, New Taipei City, Taiwan. In 2021, the company's annual revenue reached 6.83 trillion New Taiwan dollars and was ranked 20th in the 2023 Fortune Global 500. It is the world's largest contract manufacturer of electronics. While headquartered in Taiwan, the company earns the majority of its revenue from assets in China and is one of the largest employers worldwide. Terry Gou is the company founder and former chairman.
The All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) is the national trade union center and people's organization of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest trade union in the world with 302 million members in 1,713,000 primary trade union organizations. The ACFTU is divided into 31 regional federations and 10 national industrial unions. The ACFTU is the country's sole legally mandated trade union, with which all enterprise-level trade unions must be affiliated. There has been dispute over whether ACFTU is an independent trade union or a trade union at all. It directs a public college, the China University of Labor Relations.
The Independent Christian Trade Unions of Slovakia (NKOS) is a trade union center in Slovakia. It has a membership of 10,000 in three affiliated unions. Independent Christian Unions of Slovakia (NKOS) are an Open Union Confederation, based on Christian principles of democracy and humanism, registered at the Ministry of Interior of the Slovak republic on 26 May 1993 by law no. 83/1990 Zb. about Association of Citizens, as amended. History of NKOS In the years 1920 -1940 Christian unions were a significant factor in the state. They were called the Slovak Christian-social trade association. Their activity was forcibly closed in 1948. After the Velvet Revolution in 1989, an effort to restore their activity emerged. In 1990 the first Christian workers' clubs were created. Then came Christian Unions of Slovakia. Christian trade unionists efforts culminated on 26 March 1993 when NKOS were registered at the Ministry of Interior, their chairman was prof. Milan Katuninec. In 1994 the first NKOS trade union, railways, was created, with the chairman Joseph Micsinai and two years later the Trade Union of Workers in Education and Science of Slovakia came into existence with its first chairman Vladimir Cinderella. In 1995, a trade union KOVO METAL was founded, its first chairman was Dušan Mihalik. In December 1994, NKOS became a member of the International Labour Organisation. They became an observer of ITUC on the Compounding Congress in Vienna in 2006.
The Fair Labor Association (FLA) is a non-profit collaborative effort of universities, civil society organizations, and businesses.
A collective agreement, collective labour agreement (CLA) or collective bargaining agreement (CBA) is a written contract negotiated through collective bargaining for employees by one or more trade unions with the management of a company that regulates the terms and conditions of employees at work. This includes regulating the wages, benefits, and duties of the employees and the duties and responsibilities of the employer or employers and often includes rules for a dispute resolution process.
BYD Company Limited or BYD is a publicly listed Chinese multinational conglomerate manufacturing company headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, founded by Wang Chuanfu in February 1995. The company has several major subsidiaries: BYD Auto, which produces automobiles including passenger cars and electric buses; BYD Electronics, which produces electronic parts and assembly; and FinDreams, which produces automotive components and electric vehicle batteries.
The economy of Guangdong is one of the most prosperous in China. Guangdong is located in southern China, bordering on Fujian Province to the east, Hunan Province to the north, Guangxi Autonomous Region to the west and the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau to the south. It is also the largest economy of a sub-national entity in terms of GDP in all of Asia and 3rd largest sub-national entity in the world.
Apple Inc. manufactures most of its products in China through partners like Foxconn. Apple's decision to outsource its manufacturing has received significant criticism, due to allegations of poor working conditions, long work hours, and other labor rights violations. In response, Apple launched its Supplier Responsibility program, which aimed to improve Apple's oversight of supplier partners and enforce its ethics policies. It has also attempted to introduce greater diversification into its supply chain by sourcing products from other countries.
Pegatron Corporation is a Taiwanese electronics manufacturing company that mainly develops computing, communications and consumer electronics for branded vendors. It also develops, designs and manufactures computer peripherals and components. Pegatron's primary products include notebooks, netbook computers, desktop computers, game consoles, handheld devices, motherboards, video cards and LCD TVs, as well as broadband communication products such as smartphones, set-top boxes and cable modems.
As the economy of China has rapidly developed, issues of labor relations have evolved. Prior to this reform, Chinese citizens were only allowed to work where they originated from. Since 1978, when China began labor force reforms, the overwhelming majority of the labor force were either working at State owned enterprises or as farm workers in the rural countryside. However, over time China began to reform and by the late 90's many had moved from the countryside into the cities in hopes of higher paying jobs and more opportunities. The only connection between the countryside and the city soon became that there was a huge floating population connecting them. Independent unions are illegal in China with only the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACTFU) permitted to operate. China has been the largest exporter of goods in the world since 2009. Not only that, in 2013 China became the largest trading nation in the world. As China moved away from their planned economy and more towards a market economy the government has brought on many reforms. The aim of this shift in economies was to match the international standards set by the World Trade Organization and other economic entities. The ACTFU that was established to protect the interests of national and local trade unions failed to represent the workers, but instead failed to do so leading to the 2010 crackdowns. However, these strikes were centered around foreign companies.
The 2010 Chinese labour unrest was a series of labour disputes, strike actions, and protests in the south of the People's Republic of China that saw striking workers successfully receive higher pay packages.
The Foxconn suicides were a spate of suicides linked to low pay and brutal working conditions at the Foxconn City industrial park in Shenzhen, China, that occurred alongside several additional suicides at various other Foxconn-owned locations and facilities in mainland China. The series of suicides drew media attention, and employment practices at Foxconn—one of the world's largest contract electronics manufacturers—were investigated by several of its customers, including Apple and Hewlett-Packard (HP).
SACOM, or Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehaviour is a non-government organization founded in 2005 by a group of students and scholars from tertiary institutions in Hong Kong. SACOM monitors and publicizes the misconducts of multinational corporations through first-hand investigations in supplier factories.
A tech union is a trade union for tech workers typically employed in high tech or information and communications technology sectors. Due to the evolving nature of technology and work, different government agencies have conflicting definitions for who is a tech worker. Most definitions include computer scientists, people working in IT, telecommunications, media and video gaming. Broader definitions include all workers required for a tech company to operate, including on-site service staff, contractors, and platform economy workers.
The Metal Workers Alliance of the Philippines (MWAP) is a trade union federation of metal workers in the Philippines. This includes workers in the electronics industry. MWAP is an affiliate of IndustriALL Global Union.
Trade unions have historically been unrecognized by IBM. Since the company's foundation in 1911, it has not recognized any in the United States, despite efforts by workers to establish them from 1970 onward. In Australia, Germany and Italy, several trade unions have limited recognition from IBM. IBM has been able to minimize membership even in traditional union strongholds in Western Europe.
Apple Inc. workers around the globe have been involved in organizing since the 1990s. Apple worker organizations have been made up of retail, corporate, and outsourced workers. Employees have joined trade unions and formed works councils in Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom and the United States.
Workers of the German auto manufacturer Volkswagen Group are collectively organized and represented across a variety of worker organizations including trade unions and Works Councils across the globe. Workers are organized on multiple levels; locally, regionally, nationally, internationally and by marque.
