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US rejects union bid over labor standards in China

The US government on Friday rejected a union bid to sanction China over its labor standards, but said it was well aware of serious abuses in the country's booming factories.

The office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) said the petition filed by the AFL-CIO, the umbrella US labor federation, for a "Section 301" investigation into Chinese workers' rights was inappropriate.

Had the petition been upheld, it would have triggered a lengthy probe that could have resulted in US trade sanctions against China.

"As we explained in April 2004 when we rejected a similar Section 301 petition on China's labor practices, we do not need to conduct a year-long investigation to know that there are serious concerns with labor rights and working conditions in China," USTR spokesman Sean Spicer said.

The US government will continue to press China to improve workers' rights in its factories and workplaces, he said.

"A Section 301 investigation will neither shed more light on this problem nor lead to a more effective approach for addressing Chinese workers' rights and labor conditions," Spicer said.

China has drawn fierce criticism for its industrial safety record as employers chase profits over all else to stoke the country's startling economic boom. The only union allowed is a federation affiliated to the Communist Party.

The AFL-CIO, which is also aghast at the loss of hundreds of thousands of American jobs to China in recent years, called the USTR decision a "slap in the face" to both Chinese and American workers.

"In rejecting this petition, [US] President George W. Bush has shown once again that he is beholden to corporate interests at the expense of working families," AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka said in a statement.

"It's a travesty that after five years of failed trade policy that have contributed to the loss of almost three million US manufacturing jobs and a record trade deficit of US$726 billion, the administration continues to take no meaningful action to support America's workers or stop the abuse of workers in China," Trumka said.
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