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CANADA-CHINA FRIENDSHIP AND
SOLIDARITY
Long and Deep
BCFL/VDLC Delegation Orientation, June 3, 2014
Who is this man?
Dr. Norman Bethune
School children memorize “In Memory of Norman Bethune”
by Chairman Mao
Missionaries and Teachers
Who are these people?
David and Isabel Crook Isabel was the daughter of Canadian
missionaries.
Isabel Crook today in Beijing
Revolution in a Chinese Village: Ten Mile Inn, well known in Chinese translation
And recently with then-Premier Wen Jiabao
Another well-known Canadian missionary
James Endicott
His granddaughter, Lorraine, edits “Our Times”
Who is this woman?
Madeleine ParentQuebec Union Leader
Who went to China with this man
Who wrote this book about his1960 visit to China
Which Vancouver unionists went to China in 1967 and met Chairman Mao?
Jack Scott and John Wood
Canada was one of the first western countries to
diplomatically recognize China
In what year?
Canada recognized China in
1970
Mitchell SharpMinister of External Affairs
Sharp remarked 25 years later: "Seldom is Canada in a position to give international leadership. This time we did so."
Nixon didn’t visit China until…
1972
Nixon with Premier Zhou Enlai
Trudeau returned to China in 1973 as Prime Minister after
recognizing China diplomatically in 1970
U.S. didn’t recognize China until 1979
Thirty years after the founding of the People’s Republic of China
We are still very popular in China
How should unions in Canada respond?
By communicating with the ACFTU, engaging in exchanges and dialogue
By being frank about how unions work in Canada in a capitalist society: how we organize workers; how we represent workers on the shop floor; how we bargain contracts; and how we strike to win our demands from employers
Beijing MFTU BEIJING, Sept. 1, 2010 (Xinhuanet) -- Amid rising concerns over trade
unions' role in better protecting workers' rights and interests, the Beijing municipal trade union's move to liberate grassroots trade union chairs from their economic dependence on employers marks an important step forward.
The capital's trade union will establish a special fund to pay grassroots [workplace] trade union leaders. That will hopefully make grassroots trade unions more independent in their negotiations with employers, when workers' rights and interests are violated.
Before the 1980s, State-owned enterprises offered welfare packages to take care of almost everything in workers' daily lives. Trade unions then were actually the ones providing welfare services. Now, different forms of private businesses have become an important part of the country's economy. Employers can ignore or even violate the rights and interests of workers when their major concern is to pursue maximum profits. There are instances of employers firing trade union leaders who pressured them over workers' rights and interests. Trade union leaders can even side with employers instead.
As such, the Beijing union is working for the direct election of union leaders or have such leaders sent by higher-level unions. This will help ensure that they will be paid not by employers, but by unions. The leaders will then have less to fear of in helping the workers. Despite all possible resistance, this plan is to be put into practice.
Harvard’s Elaine Bernard,Kent Wong, UCLA:
“China has undergone tremendous change in the past few decades…In this context of change, would not more worker-to-worker and union-to-union exchange be positive? Through more dialogue with Chinese workers and unions, the …labour movement could promote mutually beneficial labour solidarity, move beyond the cold war and unilateralism, and refocus attention on the domestic and global corporations and associated institutions that are, in fact, the main threat to workers throughout the world.”
Friendship continuesVDLC visited BMFTU, 2006
BMFTU visited VDLC in 2007
And we took them to a picket line
Shandong PFTU has visited several times (this is 2009)
And now it’s our turn
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