Workers146; paradise?

The recent discovery of extensive slave labour practices in the brick kilns of China8217;s industrial heartland has only confirmed what has been widely known

The recent discovery of extensive slave labour practices in the brick kilns of China8217;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 workers8217; 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 China8217;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 China8217;s rapidly changing labour market at a time when Beijing8217;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 Beijing8217;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 workers8217; 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.

After their trip, the US trade union bosses offered praise to ACFTU. James Hoffa, the leader of once powerful US Teamsters Union, defended the visit by saying 8220;you can8217;t ignore a union with 170 million members even if it is sponsored by the Chinese government8221;.

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Hoffa insisted that the ACFTU has begun to 8220;help workers rather than simply control them. Recently, the ACFTU convinced McDonald8217;s to allow unions in their Chinese restaurants. Wal-Mart was also forced to allow unions into its stores in China 8212; the first time the anti-union retailer did so anywhere in the world.8221;

The basic thesis of the Teamsters boss is simple: without Chinese allies like the ACFTU, there is no stopping American capital and Beijing8217;s Communists from shifting US jobs to China.

Hoffa summed up his visit by saying, 8220;More than half of China8217;s exports are by foreign-based corporations or their subsidiaries. Organised labour in America needs to shine a spotlight on the role of US corporations in oppressing workers in China.8221;

Even as he complained that the new law on workers8217; rights was watered down to please the US MNCs, Hoffa is optimistic. 8220;We left China with a commitment to continue our discussions with Chinese organisations on how to best promote the rights of workers here, there and everywhere in the world.8221;

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Hoffa is simply rephrasing Marx8217;s Communist Manifesto: 8220;Workers of the world, unite behind AFL-CIO and the Teamsters.8221;

The Pope8217;s flock

It is not just American trade unions that have tied their future to China. So has the Vatican. Pope Benedict XVI is looking for a deal with Beijing that would allow the Church to renew its missionary activity there.

8220;During the first Christian millennium the Cross was planted in Europe and during the second in the American continent and in Africa,8221; the Pope wrote, in a letter China8217;s Catholic community released last Saturday.8221;During the third millennium a great harvest of faith will be reaped in the vast and vibrant Asian continent,8221; the Pope added.

Beijing broke its ties to the Vatican decades ago after the Holy See chose to recognise Taiwan as China. There are an estimated 10-15 million Catholics in China, who owe their allegiance to the Pope but don8217;t get their religious rights. There is a small 8220;patriotic church8221; that is fully controlled by Beijing, but not acceptable to the Vatican.

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Vatican and Beijing have been negotiating for some time the terms under which diplomatic ties could be restored and Roman Catholics given more freedom to practice and preach.

There is one big sticking point though. The Vatican affirms its right to appoint bishops in China. Beijing says it will not allow the Pope8217;s interference in China8217;s internal affairs in the name of religion.

Finessing the tension between China8217;s notion of absolute national sovereignty and the Pope8217;s trans-national spiritual authority is not impossible. A deal would benefit both. The Vatican gets an entry, albeit controlled, into the world8217;s largest untapped 8220;faith market8221;. For Beijing, it would be a diplomatic coup of sorts to have the Pope visit China before the 2008 Olympics.

The writer is professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore