A group of 42 employees in Shenzhen have established the second Chinese trade union in Wal-Mart, just one week after the first one was set up in Fujian province, according to official media.
The China Daily and Xinhua News Agency on 5 August reported that Zhou Liang, a 27-year-old employee was elected union chairman.
Wal-Mart's Chinese headquarters, also located in Shenzhen, has been silent on the issue, according to the official reports.
Last Saturday (29 July), the first union in a Wal-Mart store in China was set up in Quanzhou City, Fujian Province. Official media reported that 30 employees at the store voted to form the union. A spokeswoman for the retailer also told foreign media that she had no knowledge of the union.
Wal-Mart, which employs more than 30,000 workers in China, has long been criticized as anti-union in the United States and elsewhere.
Sources: China Daily (5 August 2006), Xinhua News Agency (5 August 2006), Reuters (5 August 2006)
5 August 2006