Related Topics: Employment Contracts, Labor Unions, Labor Movements/Actions

  • With Zhang Jun’s support, pregnant employee Yu Huifang signed an employment contract with Aoliwei Company and began making social security contributions; Chi Yunxia, who was nine months pregnant, was tricked into signing a “voluntary resignation letter” while on medical leave, after which she was refused permission to return to work and received no compensation.
  • The female workers at Aoliwei hoped to form a union to promote the signing of employment contracts and the payment of social insurance premiums, and workers’ representatives—including Liu Meizhen and Jiang Qingqing—began preparations to establish the union.
  • The female workers first contacted the Fushan District Federation of Trade Unions to seek support, but Aoliwei Company refused to establish a union and even turned away Director Kong, who had come to help organize the union.
  • Aoliwei Company announced that it would use three Sundays in October to make up for the National Day statutory holiday, sparking discontent among female workers. When Liu Meizhen and others went to negotiate, General Manager Su refused to meet with them and warned them not to raise the issue of forming a union again.
  • After negotiations failed, the female factory workers proposed organizing a union through a strike and received widespread support. Aoliwei Company subsequently took note of Liu Meizhen’s influence among her coworkers and planned to fire her after National Day.

The summary above was automatically generated by the system and is provided for reference only. Please verify it against the original text before use.

Author: Zhang Jun, former advisor to the Labor Union Committee of Aolive (Yantai) Electronics Co., Ltd.

21. With Zhang Jun’s covert support, Yu Huifang, a pregnant employee, signed an employment contract with Aoliwei Company and began making social insurance contributions; Chi Yunxia, another pregnant employee, was dismissed by Aoliwei Company after being set up.

In August 2006, Yu Huifang, who was several months pregnant at the time, sought help from Liu Meizhen, hoping to persuade Aoliwei Company to sign a contract with her and enroll her in the social insurance program. With Zhang Jun’s support, her wish was granted. Later, Yu Huifang became one of the key leaders in the strike and union-forming movement, and served as the first vice chairperson of the Aoliwei Union.

In September 2006, female employee Chi Yunxia, who was nine months pregnant, approached Aoliwei Company to request time off to go to the hospital for a checkup due to feeling unwell, but her request was denied.Later, when Chi Yunxia could no longer bear the physical strain, she again asked Aoliwei Company for time off. The company then prepared a voluntary resignation letter and asked her to sign it. Chi Yunxia expressed skepticism, explaining that she was only requesting time off and did not intend to resign.Aoliwei Company then misled her, claiming that this had nothing to do with resignation and that once she signed it, she would be granted leave to go to the hospital. Consequently, Chi Yunxia signed the document and went to the hospital for a medical examination.

When Chi Yunxia returned to work at Aoliwei after her medical examination, the company refused to let her back on the job, claiming she was no longer an employee because she had already submitted her resignation, and denied her any compensation! Since the company had never signed an employment contract with Chi Yunxia in the first place, Aoliwei effectively deprived her of all the rights and benefits she was entitled to as a pregnant woman!

This incident has sparked a strong reaction among the workers! Everyone is outraged by Aoliwei Company’s despicable actions!

22. The female workers at Aoliwei began to consider forming a union.

In late June 2006, after getting their revenge, Jiang Qingqing, Liu Meizhen, and five other female workers began looking for new jobs while continuing to work, all preparing to leave Aoliwei—a company that was simply not worth their time. Jiang Lingli had already submitted her resignation to Aoliwei at the end of June, one month in advance.

After learning that seven female workers were planning to resign, the workers at Aoliwei approached Liu Meizhen and Jiang Qingqing, hoping they would stay on to help ensure that the other workers could also sign employment contracts with the company and have social insurance contributions made on their behalf.

Jiang Qingqing made a suggestion to the female workers: “Why don’t you just form a union?”

As soon as Jiang Qingqing finished speaking, quite a few young female workers couldn’t wait to ask questions like, “What is a labor union?” and “What is a labor union, anyway?”

Jiang Qingqing, who had a strong sense of union consciousness, said to the female workers, “The union is an organization dedicated to speaking up for us workers and looking out for our interests.”

A female worker asked, “Can the union help us sign employment contracts and pay social insurance premiums?”

Jiang Qingqing furrowed her brow, thought for a moment, and said, “I suppose so.” It seemed that Jiang Qingqing wasn’t entirely sure either.

The female workers said, “As long as the union speaks up for us workers, we should form one. Please help us form a union right away! We don’t know anything about this.”

Jiang Qingqing added, “Forming a union isn’t exactly a simple matter; we’ll have to give it some serious thought.”

Jiang Qingqing and Liu Meizhen first told the other female workers: “We’ve made up our minds to leave the company, so we’re only here to help you form a union. We’ll be leaving this company very soon. Therefore, the union chairperson and other leaders will be chosen from among you.”

At that moment, a female worker asked, “So what will the name of the union we’re about to form be?”

Jiang Qingqing said, “The names of labor unions are always based on the names of the companies they belong to. Our company is called Yantai Aoliwei, so the labor union we’re about to establish should be called the Yantai Aoliwei Labor Union!”

In late June 2006, just as the female workers at Aoliwei were secretly planning to form a union, they had no idea that the All-China Federation of Trade Unions was already launching a campaign to organize unions at Walmart stores across China.

23. Female workers at Aoliwei began preliminary preparations for forming a union.

Jiang Qingqing and other female workers approached Zhang Jun to discuss the formation of a labor union. Zhang Jun pointed out that, according to relevant laws and regulations governing the formation of labor unions, establishing a union requires approval from a higher-level union, which must issue a formal approval notice; therefore, it is necessary to first obtain the consent and support of the local Federation of Trade Unions.

In early July 2006, some female workers at Aoliwei reached a consensus on forming a labor union. Liu Meizhen, Jiang Qingqing, and four others were elected as worker representatives (Jiang Lingli was not elected because she had already submitted her resignation), and they immediately began preparations for establishing the union. Zhang Jun suggested that the representatives first familiarize themselves with the relevant provisions of the *Trade Union Law*.

The female workers did not inform Aoliwei Company of their intention to form a union; instead, they first contacted the Fushan District Federation of Trade Unions in Yantai City to express their desire to establish a union and protect the rights and interests of female workers. Their legal basis was Article 6 of the “Measures of Shandong Province for the Implementation of the Trade Union Law of the People’s Republic of China.” This provision not only serves as the legal basis for female workers to seek assistance from higher-level trade unions but also establishes the statutory duty of local federations of trade unions to provide such assistance.

Director Kong of the Fushan District Federation of Trade Unions gave a clear response: He supports female workers in forming a union.

24. Aoliwei Company arrogantly rejected the female workers’ legitimate demand to form a union and turned away Director Kong of the Fushan District Federation of Trade Unions, who had come to Aoliwei to support the workers’ efforts to form a union.

After contacting the Fushan District Federation of Trade Unions and securing its support, Liu Meizhen, Jiang Qingqing, and others approached General Manager Su to request the establishment of a labor union.

General Manager Su let out a contemptuous snort: “Hmph! Hmph! You’re not allowed to form a union—and don’t come bothering me again!”

Jiang Qingqing reported to the Fushan District Federation of Trade Unions that Aoliwei Company had refused to allow the formation of a union. Director Kong immediately drove to Aoliwei Company. Upon learning the purpose of Director Kong’s visit, Aoliwei Company asked him to leave and told him that it was impossible for a union to be established at Aoliwei Company.

On one or two occasions after that, Director Kong also attempted to visit, but he was not even allowed to enter the gates of Aoliwei Company. According to Article 11, Paragraph 2 of the *Trade Union Law*: “Higher-level trade unions may dispatch personnel to assist and guide enterprise employees in organizing trade unions; no unit or individual may obstruct such efforts.” It is evident that Aoliwei Company has violated the law, and the Fushan District Federation of Trade Unions has also failed to coordinate with the labor authorities to hold the company legally accountable in accordance with the provisions of Article 50 of the same law.

25. The female workers at Aoliwei decided to form the Aoliwei Union through a strike.

Liu Meizhen and others had also considered using a strike on several occasions to force Aoliwei Company to establish a union. Although the female workers at Aoliwei all strongly supported the formation of a union, most of them opposed a strike, fearing they would lose their jobs.

On the afternoon of September 29, 2006, Aoliwei Company posted a notice announcing that the three-day National Day holiday would be made up by taking three Sundays in October off. According to the law, statutory holidays cannot be rescheduled. This caused outrage among the female workers!

Liu Meizhen, Jiang Qingqing, and others have once again become the focus of attention among the female workers, who hope that Liu Meizhen and her colleagues will step forward to negotiate with Aoliwei Company’s leadership to correct this wrong decision. If that doesn’t work, they’ll go on strike!

After a brief discussion, Liu Meizhen and the others told the female workers that they would immediately go to Aoliwei Company to negotiate, but asked the workers not to go on strike for the time being and to wait for the outcome of the negotiations with Aoliwei Company.

After Liu Meizhen and the others arrived at General Manager Su’s office and explained the purpose of their visit, he was extremely surprised and taken aback—how dare these female workers, who were defying the authorities, try to negotiate with him?! He immediately shouted at Liu Meizhen, “Get back to work right now! You have no right to discuss this matter with me!”

Liu Meizhen couldn’t help but recall how Aoliwei Company had laid off a large number of female workers on the eve of the previous long holiday—May Day—and realized that forming a union was now a matter of urgency. She asked General Manager Su, “So, when will we begin the process of forming a union?”

“Get out!! Don’t even bring this up—how many times have I told you this? From now on, anyone who mentions forming a union will be kicked out on the spot!” General Manager Su’s furious shout cut off Liu Meizhen’s words.

Liu Meizhen and the others returned empty-handed, feeling that their personal dignity had been utterly trampled upon by Aoliwei Company.

Liu Meizhen and the others returned to the production line, where their coworkers gathered around them, eagerly asking about the outcome of the negotiations. Upon hearing the disappointing news, one female worker cried out, “It looks like we have to form a union—we’re going on strike to organize one!” As soon as she finished speaking, many female workers echoed her call.

An informant among the workers immediately reported these remarks to Aoliwei Company, setting the stage for Liu Meizhen’s dismissal after the National Day holiday.

With the National Day holiday approaching, Aoliwei Company, recognizing that Liu Meizhen had the ability to rally her coworkers and wield significant influence among them, decided to fire her in order to eliminate a potential source of trouble.

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