The Wire

US supermarket chain WalMart have flooded their own market and like all good capitalists they have turned to the massive developing Chinese economy. But WalMart isn’t having an easy time there because they’re being forced to let their employees join unions, something they’ve never allowed to happen in the States. The All China Federation of Trade Unions is normally regarded as toothless but it’s currently involved in a savage standoff with WalMart’s Chinese venture. Dr Anita Chan from the Contemporary China Centre at ANU says the situation is surprisingly leading the union to demand democratic union elections and other legal rights not usually tolerated in China.