Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern has recently been questioned by a socialist party politician in the Irish Parliament about labour rights abuses in China, in particular the case concerning workers of Stella factories in Dongguan, Guangdong Province.

Joe Higgins, a member of parliament for the Socialist Party (CWI Ireland), raised the case involving ten workers of Taiwanese-owned Stella International shoe factories – Xing Ang and Xing Xiong factories – during a recent parliamentary meeting, the Irish Times reported on 2 December.

Higgins asked the Taoiseach (the prime minister) if he was aware that China now had "more trade unionists in prison for seeking their rights than any other country in the world."

Highlighting the Stella workers' case, the Irish socialist politician then asked: "Was he aware that shortly before he met Vice Premier Huang Ju, ten workers, the youngest being a 16-year-old girl, were jailed for years for work stoppages protesting against their working conditions in a foreign company, Stella International, a shoe-making concern in the province of Guangdong?" He also asked if Prime Minister Ahern would denounce the exploitation of workers when he was being "entertained in the Great Hall of the People and banqueted in Beijing."

China Labour Bulletin reported on 28 October and 16 November that the Stella workers were sentenced by the Dongguan Municipal People's Court to up to three and a half years' imprisonment for staging mass protests in April over low wages, wage arrears and poor food provided by factory canteen. (The 16-year-old girl received a suspended prison term.) Their protest was sparked off after the factory management decided to reallocate workers' overtime hours from the weekend to weekdays, resulting in substantially lower overtime payments. Some machinery and company equipment was damaged, as the workers' action turned rowdy.

In response to Higgins’ questions, Prime Minister Ahern said that he would raise human rights abuses if he visited China next year. "Human rights issues are a constant point of discussion with the Chinese authorities…and we will continue to raise them," he was quoted as saying.

The prime minister also said that when the Chinese officials visited Ireland in recent years, he had raised human rights issues with them.

Sources: Irish Times

24 December 2004