China is gaining market share from its export competitors and now becomes the world’s biggest exporter. In the first half of 2009, China exported $521 billion worth of toys, clothes, electronics and other commodities. Consumers demand lower prices during a global recession. In America, folks are hurting and don’t want to pay more. There is a call for cheaper goods.

China has no qualms about lowering workers’ wages to bring prices down. Americans love the lower prices even while they complain about Chinese dominance in world trade. China should not be allowed to make tremendous economic bounds as a result of taking away from its laborers. The country should not be able to reduce wages in order to preserve its hegemony in world trade. Labor is a human rights issue.

China was said to be making progress with its labor laws. The enactment of the Labor Contract Law last year marked a milestone in the push to safeguard workers’ rights. But since the recession, workers have not been a first consideration in the factories. In some cases, it is thought that companies are taking advantage of the poor economic news to cut workers’ rights. Labor violations are now said to be routine, and officials look the other way.

American industrialization occurred in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. We have a long labor history. But unions lost clout as America moved away from a manufacturers’ economy. Indeed, some people fault the unions for companies moving production plants overseas.

Some people say that they expected too much. Yet, the Chinese example here shows that labor will always be the first target when companies seek to expand profits.

Chinese companies are said to be “flexible” when it comes to wages. Flexibility most likely means that companies have the upper hand and unquestionably regulate pay. If the world demands lower prices for goods, then the worker suffers. Labor absorbs the loss and is the sacrificial lamb.

Chinese worker unionization has dramatically increased since the beginning of 2007, and the country has a number of organized labor groups under one umbrella, the All-China Federation of Trade Unions. Some companies turn to union mediators to deal with a growing number of worker disputes; there are also strikes. Chinese labor will have no choice but to continue to organize and participate in some sort of collective bargaining.

As China matures, unions will have increased independence from necessity. Chinese labor unions eventually will become a mighty force. Similar to the United States, they will probably see their power wane when ways are found to go around their influence. China is in its infancy when it comes to workers’ demands. Labor, as an issue, must be a prominent concern in the future. We need to watch its dynamics, its course in Chinese society.

The American state department should monitor Chinese labor practices, because they relate to human rights. They pertain to how people are treated in the world. It is a right to work for a fair reliable wage in safe conditions. Chinese labor practices are universally important, significant to every person who works for a living. As the global trade leader, China’s lowest standards and enforced laws are measures of how we are doing as a world community.

Kristine Kaiser lives in Kernersville.