China in Africa
Namibia
- Nambia has set up special export zones to attract translational companies with tax breaks and subsidies. Employers often import Chinese Labour to work in factories in these zones. -
- The Nambian factory of the Malaysian Textile giant, the Ramatex Group has an estimated 3000 workers in 2005: Asian Migrant Workers at Ramatex in Nambia (Prepared by the Labour Resource and Research Institute (LaRRI) for the International Labor Rights Fund (ILRF) May 2005). Such companies often prefer Chinese Labour to local labour or other migrant labour because of the ability to keep wages low and the lack of exposure to Union rights.
- “Workers are flown in to sweatshop zones from Asian countries where massive unemployment figures help ensure their acceptance of adverse working conditions. They are housed in single sex dormitories, under the vigilant eyes of monitors and “quality controllers”. …. In addition, because independent union federations are banned in China, Chinese workers are unlikely to complain about working conditions” (‘Ghosts of South Africa's grim past haunt Namibia’ -The Star (South Africa) October 13, 2004)
- Employing Chinese, other migrant and local workers enable companies to keep a divided workforce, and stops unionisation. For more details see Asian Migrant Workers at Ramatex in Nambia (Prepared by the Labour Resource and Research Institute (LaRRI) for the International Labor Rights Fund (ILRF) May 2005) http://www.laborrights.org/publications/namibia.report.pdf
- A Chinese worker at a Malaysian-owned textile plant reputed for its anti-union practices found herself in hospital following an attack by a dog used by security guards during a demonstration organised by the Chinese workers. They were protesting their working conditions, the inedible food and the medicals imposed at their own expense. (31.10.07 http://www.liberationafrique.org/spip.php?article919 )
Click here for the ITUC's Annual Survey of violations of trade union rights. |
