Mainland Media

Shanghai ACFTU asks employers for wage transparency

In an interesting but brief article by the Shanghai Daily it was reported that the local Shanghai Municipal branch of the ACFTU has called for a transparent monitoring of wage levels within companies

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The Shanghai branch of the ACFTU proposed on 18 June that employers should release a salary scale for every position, breaking down income by basic wage and bonuses.

The union also proposed all employers set up a consultation system over the next three years for employees to raise questions about salary scales.

"The trade union at every enterprise should reflect employees' opinions on their incomes to managers, and reach an agreement through consultation between both parts on equal footing," said Zhang Lu, an official with the Shanghai Trade Union.

Furthermore, companies should hold at least one staff meeting a year to provide a platform for employee representatives and managers to negotiate wage scales. Any company that doesn't raise salaries for more than two year will be urged to organize a meeting with employees to discuss the issue.

Zhang Lu stated that, "We found in a recent survey that the gap between the wages of managers and first-line workers has grown in recent years, so the release of wage scales could help avoid the unfair distribution of incomes.”

Only 460 of 2,277 employees said they knew the basic salary of their managers, according to the survey. The survey also found the average annual salary for workers in Shanghai rose by 10.2 percent over the last year, hitting 29,569 yuan (US$3,810) in 2006.

About 66 percent of local workers [presumably here they refer to local urban workers and not migrants: Ed] make less than the annual salary.

To remedy the growing gap, the union suggests companies focus on increasing the salaries of front-line workers, arguing those who earn less than 50 percent of the city's average salary should receive a 12 percent increase this year.

Original Text from Shanghai Daily 19 June 2007