The ACFTU's collective bargaining agenda

Abstract

INTERNATIONAL union rights Page 10 Volume 22 Issue 4 2015 The ACFTU reports ‘inadequate participation’, ‘emphasis on formalities’, ‘lack of specific content’, and ‘unsatisfactory outcomes’ – given this, what is the future for collective bargaining in China? FOCUS ❐ LABOUR SITUATION IN CHINA O ver the past decade or so, the international labour movement has stepped up its engagement with the Chinese State-backed monopoly trade union federation, the All China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU). While the current wave of labour NGO arrests discussed elsewhere in this edition will likely temper that engagement, at least for a while, it is unlikely permanently to set aside what has been a clearly developing policy with significant momentum over a number of years. Ultimately, greater engagement between the international labour movement and the ACFTU seems the likely outcome of at least three complimentary trajectories: the increasing interest of unions worldwide in the situation in China; the huge role Chinese industry now plays in the global economy; and the ‘big tent’ approach to organising that the ITUC seems to be pursuing, which is bringing an ever greater share of the global labour movement together. And so IUR extended an invitation to contribute to this edition to the ACFTU. Unfortunately, given the current climate neither the ACFTU nor indeed any of the NGO workers or academics we contacted working in China felt that this was a good time for them to contribute to an international journal. And so, unfortunately, this edition of IUR, focussed on China, is lacking the perspective of the national trade union organisation , which also happens to be the largest union on earth. Whether one supports or opposes engagement with that organisation, it seems at the very least worthwhile to do what we can to examine that organisation’s current thinking, and to try to gain some sense of what it believes are the major challenges for the Chinese working class, and how it sees the evolving dynamics of labour in China. A reading of ACFTU’s official documentation and promotional material yields helpful insights into the organisation’s thinking. Over the past several years, the ACFTU has emphatically stuck to a single core topic which appears to have an overriding agenda above all others, at least if the frequency with which the topic is discussed is any indication. And that topic is collective bargaining . The 2014-2018 ACFTU Plan on Further Promoting Collective Bargaining, gives a clear indication of the continuing focus on this agenda: 2014-2018 ACFTU Plan on Further Promoting Collective Bargaining The All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) has formulated its plan to further promote collective bargaining with a view to protecting the legitimate rights and interests of workers and facilitating harmonious and stable labour relations. Guiding philosophy The plan is inspired by the spirit of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the 3rd Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee, and the important speeches of President Xi Jinping. It is based on the decision of the 16th National Congress of the ACFTU to ‘continue to promote collective bargaining for wider coverage and better effect’. The aim is threefold: • to give full play to the fundamental role of collective bargaining in adjusting labour relations, • to enhance the quality of collective bargaining and the effectiveness of collective agreements, • to further strengthen confidence, build consensus and overcome difficulties in collective bargaining work. The 2011-2013 ACFTU Plan on Promoting Collective Bargaining (ACFTU [2011] No. 4) had expanded the coverage of collective bargaining. However, there are still problems in the collective bargaining process: inadequate participation of workers, emphasis on formalities rather than actual effects, lack of specific content, unsatisfactory outcome of collective agreements and so on. It is therefore necessary to form a support system and efficient mechanism for collective bargaining which, with the full participation of workers, can yield real benefits for them. In this way, more and more workers will be able to feel satisfied with the results of collective bargaining; while trade unions can integrate the promotion of enterprise development with safeguarding workers’ rights, thus helping workers to achieve decent and enjoyable work as well as comprehensive development (continued…) (source: http://en...