The Changing Nature of Labor Unrest in China

This paper argues that whilst the relationship between US consumerism and China’s low-wage production has underpinned China’s economic growth in recent years, policy-makers are increasingly cognisant of heightened internal and external vulnerabilities, namely increased domestic social unrest and down- turns in US demand. Despite calls for increased domestic consumption, opinion remains divided as to the extent to which policy-makers will make a genuine departure with China’s export-orientation. This paper argues, however, that the direction of the Chinese political economy will depend much on the transformative role of workers’ struggles. Placed in a broader north-east Asian comparative perspective, we argue that China appears to be on the verge of a transition towards a limited labour supply, as evidenced in increasing labour shortages, rising wages costs and new forms of labour unrest. An in-depth case study of the strike at Nanhai Honda in 2010 suggests that China’s migrant workers are beginning to develop a class consciousness and move from reactive to proactive demands. Furthermore, the response of the Chinese state and employers has shifted from one of outright repression to one of accommodation. These trends are likely to be highly significant in terms of China’s uneven integration into the global economy.

2012

Based on a review of divergent interpretations of migrant-worker protests in China, this article analyzes strike patterns during labor struggles in the summer of 2010. The analysis reveals (1) a shift toward more offensive demands for wage increases and (2) a high level of strike contagion. While these elements were evident to some extent in earlier struggles, the authors see their specific combination in 2010 as an indicator of an ongoing process of “class formation.” The strikes were centered on auto supplier factories, however, and this shows the limitations on cross-sector protest due to the fragmented conditions in China's heterogeneous industrial structure and a continuing ban on independent organization. Taking a broader perspective on the peculiarities of the strike movement, the authors discuss the impact on the government's comparably permissive stance toward the strike movement. This stance created favorable conditions for the proliferation of strikes. Attempts by state authorities to institutionalize worker conflict, while legitimizing the demand for higher wages, fall short of granting rights to organize independently and bargain collectively. Instead an opening has been created for worker militancy rather than integrating it into some authoritarian form of social compromise.

China Quarterly, 2019

What impact is the current rise in workplace conflict having on governance in China? This article argues that, over time, protests are driving the state in two directions at once: towards greater repression and greater responsiveness. Using an original dataset of strikes, protests and riots by Chinese workers between 2003 and 2012, along with government budgetary and judicial statistics, the article demonstrates that significant, positive correlations exist at the provincial level between increased unrest on the one hand and both increased spending on the People's Armed Police (repression) and increasing numbers of pro-worker and split decisions in mediation, arbitration and court cases (responsiveness) on the other. Feedback effects exist with regard to responsiveness, though: more cases in which workers win something in turn seem to spur greater unrest. The article closes by noting the changes since Xi Jinping took office and examining the implications of the findings for China's political development.

China Information, 2017

Worker protests in China are increasing in frequency, and workers are making more ambitious demands. However, it is unclear whether this activism is, on the whole, drawing a reformist or conservative response from officials. Using a 2014 survey of city-level leaders from China's official trade union federation, we find that an acknowledgement of the seriousness of today's labour disputes and of how the country's industrial relations are changing is positively correlated with respondents' optimism regarding the likelihood of changes to China's political system. To determine exactly what this means ideologically, we further compare reform optimists and pessimists with regard to their support for a range of more specific policies, finding that those who believe systemic changes are close at hand have different views from their peers regarding the importance of engagement with global civil society and a tripartite (government, union, employer) approach to managing workplaces. This provides tentative support for the idea that reform optimists are reform supporters and that interest in change among Chinese officials, at least at the level studied here, is growing alongside workplace conflict.

Article One of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China (2004) could not be clearer. China is a “socialist state under the people’s democratic dictatorship led by the working class and based on the alliance of workers and peasants”. This apparent collective “exceptionality” of China stands in stark contrast to the dominant political ideologies of the current individualistic neo-liberal era of capitalist globalisation. However, when I look at China through a lens of labour relations and the class struggles they generate, the case for China’s “generality” – as opposed to “exceptionality” – hoves into view: it is very clear that the country is marked by high inequality, a poor implementation of labour laws and an obvious power imbalance between the forces of capital and the forces of labour relations in which the state mostly supports the former. Seen through this lens, China no longer resembles a state “led by the working class” but rather a state focused on containing one that is finding its voice. It is this contentious dynamic that I examine in this paper

Studies in Comparative International Development, 2004

How do post-socialist unions respond to market crisis? And what are the implications of this response for labor representation? Drawing on literature on post-socialist labor and union democracy, I argue that economic crisis affects not just labor-capital and labor-state relations, but also the relationship between union representatives and workers. Such a dynamic is highlighted by an empirical account of the divergent activities of workers and All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) unions in China following the economic crisis of 2008. While the union responded to mass unemployment with an administrative and policy-oriented strategy, workers took to the streets in increasing numbers. This divergence led to several instances of conflict, and, by 2010, it was possible to detect small but significant shifts in the union's approach to dealing with labor unrest.

European Trade Union Institute eBooks, 2016

Flexible workforces and low profit margins: electronics assembly between Europe and China Flexible workforces and low profit margins: electronics assembly between Europe and China 1. All interviews, unless otherwise stated, were conducted by the authors and independent research team members (from Hong Kong, mainland China and Taiwan) between June 2010 and May 2015. The authors keep the digital files, interview transcripts and field notes in confidence.

2009

2021

Strikes, protests, and riots by Chinese workers have been rising over the past decade. The state has addressed a number of grievances, yet has also come down increasingly hard on civil society groups pushing for reform. Why are these two seemingly clashing developments occurring simultaneously? Manfred Elfstrom uses extensive fieldwork and statistical analysis to examine both the causes and consequences of protest. The book adopts a holistic approach, encompassing national trends in worker–state relations, local policymaking processes and the dilemmas of individual officials and activists. Instead of taking sides in the old debate over whether non-democracies like China's are on the verge of collapse or have instead found ways of maintaining their power indefinitely, it explores the daily evolution of autocratic rule. While providing a uniquely comprehensive picture of change in China, this important study proposes a new model of bottom-up change within authoritarian systems mor...