I-Chang Kuo
Research Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences, Taipei City, Taiwan
Keywords: Chinese multinational corporations, mining industry, Papua New Guinea, labour relations, and triangular relationships
DOI: 10.5509/2024973-art3
This paper contributes to the literature on the expansion of Chinese multinational corporations (CMCs) in Papua New Guinea (PNG) by comparing the operation of a Chinese mine to that of the German New Guinea Company. I start by looking at the two economic positions (helper and merchant) performed by early Chinese immigrants to New Guinea during the colonial era and the host hostility they encountered. Then, a case study of a Chinese mining company in postcolonial PNG illustrates how local employees learned to negotiate with Chinese management through unionization instead of striking. In the meantime, Chinese personnel became subject to PNG industrial regulations based on Australian standards rather than operating as a modernizing agent to educate local workers. These findings suggest that, despite specific new Chinese communities becoming investors, they must dedicate resources towards comprehending local customs and legislation, given the enhanced agency of local actors.
[1] New Guinea here refers to areas colonized by the Germans before World War I and later incorporated into the Territory of New Guinea, which the Australian government administered between 1914 and PNG’s independence in 1975.
[2] The terms “locals,” “local people,” “local workers,” “local employees,” and “local actors” in this article refer to only Papua New Guineans, not Chinese people or Chinese employees.
变化中的三角关系:对巴布亚新几内亚中国矿场劳工关系的历史分析
关键词: 中国跨国公司、矿业、巴布亚新几内亚、劳工关系、三角关系。
本文通过比较中国矿场与德国新几内亚公司的运营情况,对研究中国跨国公司(CMC)在巴布亚新几内亚(PNG)扩张方面的文献做出贡献。我首先考察了殖民时期的早期华人移民在新几内亚所扮演的两种经济角色(佣工和商人)以及他们所遭遇的本地人的敌意。然后我用后殖民时期PNG的一个中国矿业公司的案例展示了当地雇员是怎样通过成立工会而不是罢工来学会跟中国管理层讨价还价的。与此同时,中国员工受到基于澳大利亚标准制定的巴布亚新几内亚工业法规的约束,而不是作为现代化代理人来教育当地工人。这些研究发现表明,尽管特定的新华人社区成为投资者,但鉴于本地行动者能动性的增强,他们必需投入资源来理解本地风俗习惯和立法规定。