By Han Dongfang 

Collective labour contracts have been developed and promoted by the Chinese government and the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) since the mid-1990s. Thus far, however, because of the lack of genuine worker participation in the contract negotiations, they have brought only limited benefit to China’s workers.

CLB believes free collective bargaining should be introduced into the collective contracts negotiating process as a means of not only protecting workers’ rights and interests but of also improving labour-management relations. Given the widespread abuse of workers’ rights and the often severe tensions that exist between labour and management in China today, there is now an increasingly urgent need to promote greater worker involvement in this process.

Breaking the Impasse, is our new English language research report that provides a detailed introduction to and analysis of China’s collective contracts system. The 20 page report describes the legal and regulatory framework of the system and the joint efforts of the government and the ACFTU to promote collective contracts in state-owned, private and foreign-owned enterprises across China. The report analyzes the largely pro-forma process of contract negotiation and the various types of contracts currently in force: comprehensive contracts covering a broad range of labour related issues; specific contracts on wages, health and safety, job training, and the rights of women workers; as well as regional and industry-specific contracts.

The report also examines the corporate codes of conduct that have been promoted by many transnational companies as a means of protecting workers’ rights at their Chinese supplier factories. These codes of conduct have helped improve working conditions at some factories, however, much like the government’s collective contracts programme, corporate codes of conduct have largely been imposed on factories in a top-down manner and without the involvement of the workforce. CLB argues that collective contracts directly negotiated by democratically elected workers’ representatives will not only help realize the aims and objectives of corporate codes of conduct, but will also have the crucial advantage of being legally enforceable.

In the final analysis, collective contracts can help empower workers and encourage them to stand up for their legal rights, while at the same time enhancing labour-management relations and fostering the spirit of peaceful and constructive dialogue that is so needed in Chinese society today.

To read the full report, Breaking the Impasse: Promoting Worker Involvement in the Collective Bargaining and Contracts Process, click here

Han Dongfang, China Labour Bulletin