Wal-Mart's labor problem is not only in the U.S. A strike started last week in its China operations over new work schedules designed to overhaul the retail giant’s struggling business in the Asian giant due to competition from e-commerce sites and the economic slowdown.
Epoch Times reported that the strike started in two outlets in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province on July 1 where more than half of its 200 workers joined. Two days after, the Chengdu and Harbin branches joined to protest the comprehensive calculation of working hours which Wal-mart implemented in mid-May.
Besides walking out of their jobs, the workers – in red shirts which are their uniform – chanted slogans and carried placards protesting the new policies.
Yahoo Finance reported that the employees are protesting the new work schedule wherein staff would work 11 hours on weekends and a maximum of four hours on weekdays. Some workers fear it would result in lower pay and affect their opportunity to have second jobs.
Wal-mart U.S. claimed the majority of its employees in China support the new system, and for those who need more information about the system, it is willing to communicate with the workers on a consistent basis.
Wal-mart China has a total of about 100,000 employees. It opened its first outlet in China in 1996. Although the company expanded into online retailing, the world’s largest retailer was no match to China’s ecommerce sites that in June, Wal-mart China sold its online business to the second biggest ecommerce operator in the country.