The State, the Unions, and Collective Bargaining in China: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Abstract

[Excerpt] The rapid changes in Chinese employment relations make it difficult to pass judgement on which of the above viewpoints is more accurate. They both are. Our goal is to add nuance to the picture. We contend that the rising labor unrest since the late 1990s has deeply challenged the Chinese state, resulting in the latter's two strategic responses in rebalancing labor relations: reregulating the labor market and reviving the corporatist arrangement of employment relations at multiple levels. We argue that these two mutually reinforcing responses of the Chinese state have enhanced labor standards, contributed to quantitative growth and qualitative improvement of unions, imposed constraints on the development of genuine unionism, but also resulted in unintended consequences of growing worker demand for voice and justice at the workplace, sponsoring new collective action strategies.