Employment relations in China

Abstract

This chapter outlines the changing role of the parties, including the state, the unions and the workers. It examines the processes of employment relations by focusing on the development of collective consultation and collective contract, as well as labour disputes resolution. The chapter discusses a few current issues that are confronting the state, employers and workers in China, which may have a broader impact on its economy. The notion of collective bargaining was first introduced in employment relations in China in the early 1990s, after the Trade Union Law (1992) authorised unions at the enterprise level to conclude collective contracts with employers. A key feature of employment relations since the mid-2000s has been the increasingly public and high-profile protests and strikes undertaken by workers to seek justice in both the public and private sectors. Employment relations in China have undergone significant changes during the process of economic reform, notably in how the interests of workers are defined, challenged and defended.