Labour Conflicts in the Socialist Market Economy: China and Vietnam

Abstract

This chapter compares labour conflicts in China and Vietnam, especially in the export-manufacturing centres located in the south of the two countries. Both countries have had strong growth in export manufacturing with a significant share of foreign direct investment. In both countries the workforce in these industries is dominated by unskilled, rural migrant workers. The official trade unions of China and Vietnam are controlled by the party states and fail to represent the interests of workers in labour conflicts, while independent labour unions are effectively banned. In result, labour conflicts typically take the form of “wildcat strikes”. Despite these similarities, available quantitative data and more anecdotical evidence show that the frequency of strikes in Vietnam is significantly higher than in China. The chapter suggests four explanations of this difference. First, Vietnam’s work organization is more facilitating to collective labour leadership than that of China. Second, the predominant “worker village” housing in Vietnam is more conducive to collective labour organisation than the typical dormitory housing in China. Third, compared with Vietnam, China’s labour legislation individualises and diverts collective conflicts. Finally, the Vietnamese government is more accommodating to collective labour demands than the Chinese. These different government policies are influenced by revenue conditions of local governments in the two countries.