At a rare gathering of prominent workers’ rights activists in central China last week, the late arrival of a short, balding 43-year-old man sent a ripple of excitement through the room.

上周，中国一些知名劳工维权活动人士在中国中部举行了一场罕见的聚会。一位42岁、有些秃顶的小个子男人姗姗来迟，他的出现让整个屋子里一阵兴奋。

Over the past four years, Huang Xingguo has risen from cashier to middle management at a Walmart store in Changde, Hunan province, that was closed on March 19 as part of a broader restructuring of the retailing group’s struggling China operations.

过去四年，黄兴国在湖南省常德市的一家沃尔玛(Walmart)超市，从收银员一路晋升到管理中层。3月19日，他所在的超市关门停业。零售集团沃尔玛在中国市场遭遇困境，正在展开一场广泛重组，其中就包括关闭黄兴国所在的超市。

In the context of the gathering, organised by Duan Yi, one of the country’s best known labour lawyers, the unassuming and softly spoken Mr Huang was a rock star.

这场聚会由中国最著名的劳工律师之一段毅组织。在会上，谦逊随和、话语轻柔的黄兴国成了超级明星。

As the head of the store’s grassroots union chapter affiliated with the government-sanctioned All China Federation of Trade Unions, Mr Huang is leading a group of more than 70 Walmart employees demanding higher compensation from the world’s largest retailer. Such determined opposition from an ACFTU chapter head is highly unusual in China’s rapidly evolving labour movement. The federation and its affiliates have traditionally taken a back seat when labour conflicts erupt, leaving affected workers to fend for themselves.

作为所在超市的一个草根工会的主席，黄兴国正带领70多名沃尔玛员工，向这个世界最大的零售商争取更高的补偿金。他的这个工会隶属于政府批准的中华全国总工会(ACFTU)。在中国迅速发展的劳工运动中，一个中华全国总工会分会的领导如此坚决地反抗资方，这非常罕见。通常，当劳资冲突爆发时，中华全国总工会及其下属机构都不怎么积极作为，而会让受影响的劳动者自行捍卫他们的权益。

It has in the past been accused, by labour activists, of being more interested in collecting lucrative payroll fees than fighting for workers’ rights.

劳工维权者为此一直批评中华全国总工会更关心收取可观的会费，而不是为劳动者争取权益。

Labour activists and academics say Mr Huang’s leadership is the main reason that opposition to Walmart’s closure of the Changde store is continuing, while protests at two other outlets in Anhui province quickly fizzled out. More importantly, they feel his campaign offers a rare chance to spur the ACFTU, a sprawling bureaucracy with more than 900,000 officials, into action against one of the world’s most powerful companies.

劳工维权者和学者表示，员工对沃尔玛关闭常德店的抵制能够持续，主要是因为工会由黄兴国领导，另外两家在安徽省的沃尔玛分店的抗议则很快偃旗息鼓。更重要的是，他们认为黄兴国的行动提供了一个难得的契机，能够刺激中华全国总工会对抗世界上最强大的公司之一。中华全国总工会是个庞大的官僚机构，有超过90万名职工。

The federation chapter at an IBM factory in southern China, for example, played no role in a strike by workers upset about the terms of their transfer to Lenovo as part of its $2.3bn acquisition of the US company’s x86 server business.

就在不久前，在IBM公司一家华南工厂的工人罢工活动中，中华全国总工会在那里的分会毫无作为。那次罢工是因为联想(Lenovo)以23亿美元收购了IBM公司x86服务器业务，作为收购的一部分，工人可以转入联想，但罢工工人对转入条款感到不满。

“Before, workers would fight for the minimum wage, welfare and other basic issues,” says Chang Kai, a Beijing-based academic who is advising Mr Huang. “But now workers want higher wages, better treatment and their fair share of the company’s fruits.”

北京的学者常凯表示：“以前，工人们会为最低工资、福利和其他基本问题而抗争。但现在，他们想要更高的工资、更好的待遇，并拿到公司收益中他们应得的份额。”常凯正在为黄兴国提供建议。

Many labour experts say the incidents at Walmart’s Changde outlet and IBM’s Shenzhen factory highlight the need for the ACFTU to offer more support.

许多劳工专家表示，沃尔玛常德店及IBM深圳工厂发生的事件，凸显出中华全国总工会需要为劳动者提供更多支持。

But Mr Huang complains that the initial sympathy from the federation’s municipal chapter in Changde quickly wilted in the face of a more hardline attitude from government officials, many of them from the local commercial bureau that oversees investments from companies such as Walmart.

不过黄兴国抱怨说，常德市总工会起初的同情在政府官员更强硬的态度面前很快就消散了。这些政府官员中的许多人就来自主管沃尔玛这类企业投资的当地工商局。

According to Mr Huang, meetings hosted by the government to negotiate a settlement between the two sides became what he describes as “criticism sessions” targeted at the workers.

根据黄兴国的说法，政府为调解双方矛盾而主持的座谈会，成了针对员工的“批斗会”。

“There was no chance for us to express our views,” he told the Financial Times. “The government acted like a judge. Walmart would always win and the union was always wrong.” Government and ACFTU officials in Changde declined to comment.

他告诉英国《金融时报》：“我们没机会表达我们的看法。政府在扮演法官的角色。沃尔玛永远都会赢，工会永远是错的。”常德政府官员及该市总工会的官员对此拒绝置评。

Walmart notes that most of the 20 recently implemented store closures have proceeded without incident and says it has made every effort to find alternative employment for affected workers. It also says it has followed the letter of the law regarding notice periods and compensation packages.

沃尔玛指出，在关闭20家分店的过程中，多数分店并未出事，并表示已竭尽所能为受到影响的员工寻找新的工作岗位。该公司还表示，已严格遵循了有关通知期限和补偿方案的法律。

“We did everything we are obliged to do by law and more,” says Ray Bracy, a senior Walmart China executive. “More than half the associates accepted the compensation [and] know it was fair and compliant.”

沃尔玛中国区资深主管博睿(Ray Bracy)表示：“我们尽到了法律规定的一切义务，而且还不止于此。逾半数员工接受了补偿，他们知道该方案十分公道，符合法规。”

Mr Huang counters that more than half of the store’s employees are still in his camp and insists that they were given less than one month’s notice of their store’s closure and are demanding twice the compensation on offer.

黄兴国对此表示反对，他说该分店逾半数员工仍站在他这一边，他坚称他们所在的分店关闭没有提前一个月通知，并要求得到比沃尔玛提供的赔偿方案多一倍的赔偿。

“Walmart’s compensation offer for the Changde workers may meet legal requirements, but there isn’t anything in the law that says workers can’t demand more,” adds Mr Duan

段毅表示：“沃尔玛为常德员工提供的补偿方案也许是合法的，然而没有任何法律条文规定员工不能要求得到更多补偿。”