Where in China is the labour unrest rising? Visualising workers’ collective actions in mainland China

Abstract

China is an emerging epicentre of labour unrest in the world. However, the geography of labour unrest in China is not well known due to the lack of official data. This study draws upon data from the China Labour Bulletin to characterise the spatial patterns of workers’ collective actions in mainland China from 2011 to 2020. The results show that the incidence of labour collective actions was generally higher in the less-developed central and western areas than in the developed eastern areas. Three types of high-incidence regions for worker protests were identified: the industrialised region, the less developed but rapidly industrialising region, and the less-developed resource-based region. The industrial relocation from the eastern to western and central regions in recent years has shaped the geography of labour unrest in China as the latter became concentrated areas of worker protests. The geography of labour unrest reflects the spatially uneven impact of capitalist development on labour in China.