The recent discovery of extensive slave labour practices in the brick kilns of China’s industrial heartland has only confirmed what has been widely known, that the Chinese economic miracle has had a lot to do with keeping labour costs low and a steady erosion of workers’ rights.

The law, which comes into force at the beginning of 2008, is the most significant change in Chinese labour rules in more than a decade. On the ground, where the apparatus of the party-state is in league with China’s budding capitalist class, the real issue is about implementation of laws.

Amidst the international uproar, Beijing approved last Friday a new law setting some minimal standards for China’s rapidly changing labour market at a time when Beijing’s investigations have revealed that

government labour monitors and police officials were

actively involved in a brick kiln slavery scandal.

Labour aristocracy

But guess who is coming to the rescue of the Chinese proletariat? The American labour aristocracy! As American multinational corporations protested Beijing’s efforts to tighten labour protection laws, the US trade unions have begun to rally behind the Chinese working class.

Last month, a big delegation of US trade union leaders traveled to Beijing to explore political cooperation with the All China Federation of Trade Unions to improve workers’ rights in the middle kingdom.

Some Americans opposed the visit on the ground that China does not allow independent trade unions and the ACFTU is part of the Chinese state structure. Its purpose is to prevent labour unrest rather than promote the rights of the working class, critics said.

... contd.