1. Jinghao Lu
22nd August, 2012

2. Categorizing the Chinese in Ghana
 State-owned enterprise (SOEs) staffs
 Privately-owned company owners and staffs
 Independent Traders

3. Chinese State-owned Enterprises (SOEs)
 About 20 out of 500 registered companies at the
Chinese embassy are SOEs
 Mostly large-scale business in infrastructure, mining,
manufacturing, energy generation, telecom and
fishery
 Relatively high percentage of Chinese staffs
 Chinese Staffs:
 Short-term stay, except for the senior executives
 Young in age, mostly
 Monthly income between US$1,500 and US$2,500,
excluding stipend

4. Chinese Privately-owned, Small- and
Medium-Enterprises(SMEs)
 Locally registered
 Entrepreneurs from Hong Kong, Taiwan and lately
Mainland China
 In 2011, 41 manufacturing companies, 25 Chinese
restaurants, 8 clinics, 7 fishing companies and 59
trading companies (according to Chinese embassy)
 Generally law-abiding, localized and experienced
 …with a long-term plan

5. Independent Traders
 Not included in the discussion

6. Formation of Isolation
 Level of isolation varies, depending on nature of
business and prospective length of stay
 Concerning safety, competition and salary
 Reinforcement of isolating living arrangement from
the company
 Language barrier from both sides

7. From Isolation to Perception of Local Labor
 Rudimental belief in life meaning and work value
 Difference in education, skills and learning ability
 Concept of labor union

8. From Perception to Treating Local Labor
Perception Practice
“Productivity is essential; • Discrimination of hiring
but some Ghanaians do • Low wage and welfare (pay as what one deserves)
not understand this” • Dislike / disband labor union
“Ghanaians are not loyal” • Impatience of training local workers
• Using Chinese staffs whenever possible, including
employing overstayed Chinese workers
Difference language and • Obstacle for Ghanaian to get promoted
management culture
“Low-skilled workers • Maintaining temporary employment for low-skilled
should be obedient; but jobs
Ghanaians are not” • Immediate dismissal
• Disciplinary measures applied on Ghanaian workers
“Ghanaian government • For all the violations above, believing “in the end
workers are corrupt rent- money can solve the problems”
seekers”

9. Ghanaian Workers’ Dilemma
 Not many alternatives to Chinese employers
 Ghana Trade Union Congress can only speak on
behave of labor unions; but many Chinese SMEs forbid
labor unions to be formed
 Sabotage is a way to release anger
 Mistrust widens

10. Trend of Improvement: Localization
 Chinese SOEs and multinationals are willing to
improve labor relations
 Trusted Ghanaian workers are good mediators of labor
tension
 Organization of events to allow more interactions

11. Trend of Improvement: Ghana Trade Union
Congress (TUC)
 Improved knowledge about SOEs and their top-down
management systems
 Participated in think-tank forum and visited Chinese government
leaders
 Creatively inform Chinese employers about labor laws
 Maintain relationship with the Chinese Embassy
 Lecture for Chinese SOE managers as well as Ghanaian workers
 Translate Ghanaian labor laws into Mandarin
 Use the Ghanaian lawyers employed by Chinese companies to
communicate
 Rewarded the Chinese companies which made positive changes
with good publicity in the media
 Cooperated with the Ghanaian authorities that supervise various
projects undertaken by the Chinese
 Allowed Chinese companies to learn slowly

12. Role of Chinese Business Leaders
 Chinese business associations such as Ghana China
Chamber of Commerce (GCCC) play an important role
 Publishing annual Ghana Chinese Business Directory
 Translating Ghana news into Chinese
 Increasing influence of GCCC

13. Road Ahead
 According to TUC, between 2009 and 2011, Chinese labor
practice in Ghana generally improved
 This trend will continue thanks to organizations such as
TUC and GCCC
 Chinese companies are learning about western business
model and labor practice in order to localize
 Through Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC),
Ghana’s government and civil society increased their
knowledge on Chinese business culture
 Enlarging Ghana’s talent pool is important
 Confucius Institute is about to be established in Ghana
 GCCC’s membership is growing
 Ghanaian media can encourage Chinese labor practice
improvement

14. Question and Comments?
Please contact Jinghao Lu (jinghao.lu@gmail.com) to obtain the manuscript