商业报道:中国有关劳工规定制定

script:

Unions in China, they are way different than they are here in the US, many fact. In fact, things they are more about controlling Chinese workers rather than helping¹ them. US labor² leaders though, we learn, working with Beijing just the same. One big American Union has been working in china and has successfully organized Wal-Mart store workers over there. Sound a good idea? Should US labor groups help the Chinese government organize its workers? Sijing Chen is a China analyst³ with the Eurasia group and Peter Morici is a former economist⁴ with the US International Trade Commission, business professor of the University of Maryland as well. Folks, thanks to you. We learned in the Wall Street Journal front page today, Service Employees International Union headed up by Andy Stern, he has been over there, helping out "Unions". But Peter, are the Unions, they are not what we think of here, right? Is this a good idea for a US labor group to be helping out essentially⁵ the Chinese government?

I think it’s a terrible idea. You know, we think of company unions in Japan that really work, control the workers for the companies. In China, we have company unions that control the workers for the government. The All China Labor Federation⁶ which will represent the workers of Wal-Mart is really an instrument of the government in Beijing; It will get 2% of the wages of the workers which will just create sinecures⁷ around the country. People sitting in Union hall that are there to exercise political control. Andy Stern is helping put further into the future any kind of real democratic reform or true labor rights in China. This is an absolutely terrible idea. I think he's doing it to be a contrariant and he's hurting the labor movement in the United States by doing it.

Sijin, what do you think?

Well, I think it’s important to realize that the Chinese government is really the driving force behind the recent changes in china’s labor policy. Let’s look at some of the things that they have done. With or without the help from American Union leaders, they have been working on a new labor contract law that is going to make it more difficult to fire workers and is going to extend labor contract coverage⁸ to all workers if it's possible. And they have also begun unionizing multinational⁹ corporations, which they are trying to now do with domestic companies as well.

But SiJin, I think, the question or the worry that Peter is raising and that a lot of folks have pointed¹⁰ out is, is that a mechanism¹¹ for Beijing to control those workers?

Well, if we look at the policies though; political control has traditionally been a concern for the Chinese government. But they (I don't have a bright... ) are also trying to increase the wages for, for the Chinese workers.

I didn't hear you ,Sijin, they are trying to do what for the, in terms of wages?

Um, they are also trying to increase wages for Chinese workers, they are beginning to try collective bargaining, and for some of the industries (what’s going on?), they have come up with regulations on (it was all silent)

Peter, you are having trouble hearing?

Ok, I am sorry.

Peter, can you hear me?

Yes, I can.

Ok, great, let me move this conversation forward here a little bit. You know, there has been all these focus on the Chinese investment in Blackstone. And some of these senators are saying that this is er, some kind of national security threat, do you think they're gonna be as tough on the Union groups here about working in China?

Well, I don’t know how they can't be because all they are really doing is becoming, is choosing to become involved in them politically. It’s their right to do that, just as Wal-Mart can invest in China.

They can job on it , they can pass laws, they can do all kinds of things, can't they?

Well, I think it’s going to be difficult to really do something, especially with a democratic majority and given how beholding¹² it is to the labor movement to labor political majorities. I don’t really see the Congress coming down too hard on, on Andy Stern for this, so the AFL-CIO Sweeney is gonna go over there. I just think it’s a bad idea. I know that a lot of Chinese scholars are very comfortable with the continuation of Communist Party controlling China and they would like to point to whatever progress to the workers, you know, make there. However, it remains¹³ that as long as they can exercise this kind of control, through the Union’s free labor movement just is not possible in China and real workers’ rights and real collective bargaining won’t be around in China any time soon.

SiJin, you get the last word here, we just have a few seconds left.

Well, I think the Chinese government, for its own purposes, is trying to introduce new policy that’s going to raise the wages for Chinese workers. Um, well, that is enough though, is up to each Union leader to decide.

All right, SiJin Cheng, and Peter Morici, thanks so much.

Thank you.

Notes:

AFL: American Federation of Labor

CIO: Congress of Industrial Organizations

1 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

2 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

3 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

4 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

5 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

6 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

7 sinecures   

n.工作清闲但报酬优厚的职位，挂名的好差事( sinecure的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He had lined up four sinecures that I knew of. 据我所知，他起码有四个挂名头衔。 来自辞典例句

8 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

9 multinational   

adj.多国的，多种国籍的；n.多国籍公司，跨国公司

参考例句：

• The firm was taken over by a multinational consulting firm.这家公司被一个跨国咨询公司收购。
• He analyzed the relationship between multinational corporations and under-developed countries.他分析了跨国公司和不发达国家之间的关系。

10 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

11 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

12 beholding   

v.看，注视( behold的现在分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟

参考例句：

• Beholding, besides love, the end of love,/Hearing oblivion beyond memory! 我看见了爱，还看到了爱的结局，／听到了记忆外层的哪一片寂寥！ 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学
• Hence people who began by beholding him ended by perusing him. 所以人们从随便看一看他开始的，都要以仔细捉摸他而终结。 来自辞典例句

13 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。