Labour Disputes and their Settlement in China: A Systematic Review of the Post–Reform Research

Abstract

This study systematically reviews the literature on labour disputes and their management in China. It reveals that there have been widespread labour disputes, especially collective disputes, resulting from the violation of workers’ rights in every aspect of employment relations. While labour disputes in state–owned enterprises (SOEs) are mainly caused by workforce reduction and non–payment of wages and insurance contributions due to insolvency and bankruptcy, those in foreign–invested enterprises (FIEs), particularly the East Asian–owned FIEs, and privately–owned enterprises (POEs), are caused by nonpayment of wages and insurance and increasing industrial accidents resulting from profit–oriented management strategies. China has developed a third labour dispute management system with distinctively Chinese characteristics, and it is different from the old systems whereby labour disputes were resolved via the state administration or by Western practices such as collective bargaining. The third way is characterized by reliance on labour arbitration and judicial channels and management–state bipartism for resolving disputes. Contributions to theory and implications for practitioners and research are discussed.