Wal-Mart Disregards Chinese Labor Law, Again

Will these employees be considered “rehirable”?

(Re-hir-a-ble: adj. Wal-Mart slang. ability to reapply and be hired for the same or similar job at lower pay with fewer or no benefits)

Wal-Mart Fires 18 Trust-Mart Senior Managers [Beijing Business Today]

Eighteen Trust-Mart senior managers have been dismissed in what is Wal-Mart’s first large scale layoff of Trust-Mart employees since Wal-Mart purchased the company.  The dismissed employees indicated that they would apply to the labor department for arbitration.

According to news from Shanghai, eighteen Trust-Mart senior managers from the eastern and southern regions of China received dismissal letters.  The managers’ dismissal letters stated that their contracts ending this March would not be renewed.  The eighteen senior managers also hold separate secondary positions in Trust-Mart’s trade and merchandising department, having served an average of more than five years.

There has not been much explanation as to why the layoffs are taking place.  According to the business contracts, at the completion of the contract, Wal-Mart can choose to terminate the contract.  However, besides the company contract, the managers also signed labor contracts of differing time periods.  Some of these contracts will come due in the next few months; others will not come due for one to two years.  Given the labor contracts completion dates, the managers are filing for arbitration.

A relevant legal figure expressed that according to Chinese law, the labor contract, only needs the official seal of a local Trust-Mart to be legally valid.

Last February 27, Wal-Mart purchased a 35% share of Trust-Mart, receiving Trust-Mart’s 101 stores.

Posted by Michael Mignano on Wednesday, March 19, 2008

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