Flexibility and labour management: Chinese manufacturing enterprises in the 1990s

Abstract

The rapid economic growth and structural reform that have taken place in China over the past two decades have had a substantial impact on the system of labour management in Chinese manufacturing enterprises. The purpose of this article is to document and analyse the nature of these changes in state-owned enterprises and joint venture companies. The effect of these changes on work relations, employment relations and industrial relations will form the basis of the analysis. The emphasis in the analysis will be on how work, employment and industrial relations have accommodated the demand for greater flexibility. Labour management in six manufacturing firms in the Shanghai region will be examined. This research is a pilot project for a larger-scale research in 1999. While no attempt is made to generalize the research findings, the research clarifies the extent and limits of flexibility in the current Chinese economy.