China's trade union, which is 80 years old today, now has to face the fact that a large number of workers from non-state-owned companies have not enrolled in trade unions.

Among the approximately 100 million migrant workers, most are out of trade unions, said Zhang Junjiu, vice president of All-China Federation of Trade Unions.

Fu Furong, vice president of the Quanzhou City Federation of Trade Unions, said, "Some employers think it's unnecessary because they are temporary, most migrant workers are indifferent to the enrollment, and trade unions are unreachable in some area."

On the other hand, trade unions are not allowed to exist at all by employers in many foreign-funded enterprises in China.

Wal-Mart across China, Kodak in Xiamen, Dell in Xiamen, Samsung in Tianjin, Fujicom in Shenzhen, Seagate Technology in Wuxi,

chains of Mcdonald and KFC in many cities have not had trade unions till now.

Experts say some local government officials are partial to the employers for economic interest, some employers think the trade union is an opposition force and increases their cost burden, and trade union cadres are mostly affiliated with the employers, which are all the reasons.

Liu Ying, vice president of Nanjing City Federation of Trade Unions, said the trade unions in foreign-funded companies can help adjusting the relationship between the employers and employees, as the foreign employers do not know much about the Chinese environment and employees.

"So the trade unions can not only safeguard the economic, political and cultural rights of employees, but also set up a good image of the company," he said.