Employment Relations In China Research Articles

Unregulated Flexibility and the Multiplication of Labour: Work in the Chinese Platform Economy

The global labour market is witnessing an increase in non‐standard employment, and China is no exception, albeit with distinct socio‐political dynamics. This research explores the variation of employment relations in China’s platform economy and discusses how the various types of precarious employment are generated and developed in post‐socialist China. Based on interviews with platform company managers and platform food delivery workers in China, this study draws a broader picture of platform work, considering the complex layers of labour practices at the level of platform companies and platform work. The research discusses the various labour arrangements in the ZZ food delivery platform and finds that variation serves to intensify and diversify managerial practices in platform work; at the same time, traditional types of work in platform companies are also undergoing transitions and the boundary between internal and external organisations is increasingly blurred and fluid. Labour relations in the platform economy are characterised by multiplication, and this multiplication is facilitated by the post‐socialist Chinese labour market’s general trend towards precariousness and the state’s tolerant approach to various non‐standard employment types in the era of “the new normal.”

Nonstandard Employment and Job Satisfaction across Time in China: Evidence from the Chinese General Social Survey (2006–2012)

This study examines the association of nonstandard employment with job satisfaction over time in China. An analysis is carried out using the Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS), a large cross-sectional survey that collected data from over 3000 workers across different industries, ownership types and regions in China in 2006, 2008 and 2012. The empirical results show that in 2006, nonstandard employment workers, on average, were less satisfied with their jobs than their counterparts in standard employment, all else being equal. However, these differences in job satisfaction became very small and insignificant in 2008 and 2012. The results from the propensity score matching exercise provide a similar conclusion. These findings suggest that improvements in regulations and employment relations in China have increased job satisfaction for nonstandard employment workers.

Industry- and firm-level determinants of employment relations in China: a two-level analysis

Factors influencing the adoption of human resource management (HRM) policies and practices are nested within the multilevel contexts of firms and industries. Institutional theory focuses on environmental pressure and suggests that an organization’s choice of an HR system is partly attributable to mimetic isomorphism. This paper contributes to the strategic HRM literature by estimating the relative effects of industry-level isomorphism and firm-level contingencies on employers’ choice of labor contracts. Drawing on different theoretical perspectives, this study examines multilevel environmental and organizational factors as determinants of HR systems and tests their impacts on the use of short-term labor contracts and weighted average labor contract duration, using a survey of 313 manufacturing plants in China. Utilizing a hierarchical linear model, our analysis shows that while most of the variance in HR systems occurred at the firm level, approximately 7% of the total variance in the four HR programs we studied are explained by industry-level factors. Findings suggest that international competitive pressure, capital intensity, firm size, unionization and ownership type have significant effects on use of labor contracts in a manufacturing context.

Experimentation and decentralization in China’s labor relations

In this introduction to the special issue ‘Changing work, labour and employment relations in China’, we argue that China is taking an experimental and decentralized approach to the development of new labor relations frameworks. Particular political constraints in China prevent interest aggregation among workers, as the central state sees this as posing a risk to social stability. Firms and local governments have been given a degree of space to experiment with different arrangements, as long as the categorical ban on independent unions is not violated. The consequence has been an increasingly differentiated labor relations landscape, with significant variation by region and sector. We note some countervailing tendencies towards re-centralization, but emphasize that this phenomenon remains largely confined to the municipal level. The five articles in this special issue address different aspects of both experimentation and decentralization in labor relations.

Industry and Firm-level Determinants of Employment Relations in China: A Two-level Analysis

Factors influencing the adoption of human resource management (HRM) policies and practices are nested in multilevel context of firm and industry. Institutional theory focuses on environmental press...

Changing work, labour and employment relations in China

Changing work, labour and employment relations in China

Special Issue call for papers Changing work, labour and employment relations in China

Special Issue call for papers Changing work, labour and employment relations in China

Changing work, labour and employment relations in China

Changing work, labour and employment relations in China

Changing work, labour and employment relations in China

Changing work, labour and employment relations in China

Changing work, labour and employment relations in China

Changing work, labour and employment relations in China

Changing work, labour and employment relations in China

Changing work, labour and employment relations in China

The ethics of employment relations in China: a meta‐analysis

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to critically evaluate the extant literature on ethics of employment relations in China. Toward that goal, a meta‐analytic approach is employed to conclude the business ethical issues from different results and lay foundation for further research by deeply understanding ethics of employment relation in China.Design/methodology/approachA systematic literature review procedure is developed to identify all relevant articles and meta‐analytic procedures are used to identify issues related to ethics of employment relations in China.FindingsThe results suggest there are not many researches on business ethics, especially ethics of employment relations in China. The authors examine the researches about business ethics in research methodology, research perspective, ethical dimensions of employment relations and relationship between variables and find some disadvantages. The authors feel ethics of employment relations in China should cause more concern, in both the theoretical and practical areas.Originality/valueThe paper explores academics’ perceptions towards ethical issues related to employment relations and shows the importance of ethics during the development of Chinese companies.

Changing employment relations in China: a comparative study of the auto and banking industries

Employment relationships in China have undergone changes during the process of transition to a market economy and through the impact of globalisation. Both market forces and institutional arrangements have played important roles in determining the changing character of employment relationships in Chinese auto and banking sectors in recent years. Because of the unique characteristics of China's situation, there are a number of problems yet to be fully recognised and resolved during the process of economic transition and the construction of a new institutional system.

Changing work, labour and employment relations in China

Changing work, labour and employment relations in China

Changing work, labour and employment relations in China

Changing work, labour and employment relations in China

Special Issue call for papers: Changing work, labour and employment relations in China

Special Issue call for papers: Changing work, labour and employment relations in China

Towards a Functioning Framework for Individual Labour Law Rights: Challenges for China in a Changing World of Work

This presentation considers progress towards establishment of a modern legislative framework for individual employment relations in China. A background of current labour market statistics and trends is provided, together with comment on perceived impacts for China of the global financial crisis since 2008. Recent enactments dealing with employment promotion, labour contracts, and labour dispute resolution are then considered. These are seen as a new phase in regulatory activity for the world of work since the foundation of the People's Republic in 1949. Particular challenges are identified in relation to effective delivery of employment rights, the administrative monitoring of enterprise compliance with labour regulations, and judicial efficiency in dealing with a rising volume of labour disputes throughout China. The influence of international standard-setting bodies upon the new enactments is noted, as are lessons drawn by the Chinese authorities from examination of experiences in other national systems. It is suggested that, without dramatic departure from the framework established by the 'umbrella' Labour Law of 1994, recent Chinese legislation reflects some sophisticated and innovative draughtsmanship, as well as sensitivity to the delicate balance between the economic interests of enterprises and the (generally protective) 'social dimension' of the world of work. Concern is expressed, however, as to whether China's available enforcement and sanctioning mechanisms will suffice to ensure that the new regulatory arrangements become effective in practice. Notably, there is a pressing need for capacity building in order to provide the administrative and judicial institutions necessary to ensure effective labour market regulation within a framework of rule of law. The need for a stable, well-regulated, yet flexible, labour market is seen as crucial to the continued success of the Chinese economy at a time of dramatic global flux. Cautious optimism is expressed as to the prospects of achieving those goals.

Tripartite consultation: an emergent form of governance shaping employment relations in China

ABSTRACTThis article examines China's approach to industrial consultation by examining six tripartite bodies at the national, provincial and county levels. It argues that the institutionalisation of tripartitism is consistent with China's overall approach to market reform being characterised by experimentalism, gradualism, dynamism and a gradual softening of party domination. Despite limitations, it is accepted that China is building a transition tripartite system that is bolstering the autonomy and representational capacity of the social partners.

Gender organizing in China: a study of female workers' representation needs and their perceptions of union efficacy

This paper investigates gender organizing in China from the perspective of women employees in different industrial sectors and across ownership forms. It identifies women workers' views on their representation needs, level and effect of trade union activities, their related attitude towards unionism as well as alternative forms, if any, of organizing. The study reveals that women employees in government organizations, public sector, state-owned enterprises and private firms have significantly different needs and levels of identification with the union. It argues that the pluralism of employment relations in China across the spectrum of ownership forms and occupational groups should be given more recognition and attention than has been warranted.

Employment Relations at the Workplace Level in China: Two Contrasting Cases

This paper explores the pressures of standardisation and differentiation in employment relations in China. Using case studies from two companies that share the same ownership, industry, size, location and labour market, the paper will show that, despite moves by the state and internationalisation of production to standardise employment relations in different ways, there continues to be an opening at the workplace level to construct very different employment and worker relations.