Globalisation, national transformation and workers' rights: An analysis of Chinese labour within the global economy
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Nottingham
Department Name: Sch of Politics & International Relation
Abstract
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Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| Andreas Bieler (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Andreas Bieler
(2017)
Chinese Labour in the Global Economy
Bieler A
(2016)
Exploitation and Resistance: A Comparative Analysis of the Chinese Cheap Labour Electronics and High-Value Added IT Sectors
in Globalizations
Bieler A
(2016)
Chinese Labour in the Global Economy: An Introduction
in Globalizations
Bieler A
(2016)
What Future for Chinese Labour and Transnational Solidarity?
in Globalizations
Lee, C.-Y.
(2014)
'Learning a Lesson from Taiwan? A Comparison of Changes and Continuity of Labour Policies in Taiwan and China'
in Journal of Current Chinese Affairs
| Description | The key findings of the project can be summarised as follows: 1. China continues to be integrated into the global political economy mainly as an assembly platform for exports. Pre-fabricated parts are imported, assembled in Chinese factories and then exported to North America and Europe. Hence, China's economic growth still depends on its enormous resource of cheap labour. Some attempts are made to expand into areas of more high-valued added production, but this is still very much at the beginning. 2. Considering this dependence on cheap labour, conclusions about Chinese developmental catch-up and China emerging as the new economic hegemon at the world level are premature. Instead, Chinese development is characterised by uneven and combined development. It is combined in that it is closely related to development in the core with the predominant part of assembly production being controlled by large foreign transnational corporations, either directly or indirectly. And it is uneven in that the gap between China and industrialised countries remains large and the gap between the poor and the rich, the inland areas and the coastal regions in China itself is increasing. 3. Unsurprisingly, working conditions in factories are highly exploitative, characterised by low wages, long working-hours and a lack of health and safety measures. 4. There is a close connection between the type of production, the related workers' salaries and working conditions and corresponding industrial relations. While cheap labour assembly production is based on low wages, exploitative working conditions, a high turn-over of the workforce as well as conflictual industrial relations with high strike rates, the salaries and working conditions in the more-high value added production units especially in the area of the Yangtze River Delta are significantly better. Because production relies on more highly qualified workers and depends on continuity in employment relations, workers are treated better. Moreover, informal labour NGOs are integrated into industrial relations by employers and local government in an effort to improve the overall working environment in the factory as well as wider society. 5. The main objective of informal labour NGOs is the right to form free trade unions and to engage in collective bargaining with employers. They do not want to return to a communist past. Although grass-root labour organisations are still under great pressure from the government, this research uncovered the strong organisational activities by grass-root labour NGOs to enhance workers' collective bargaining power and to strengthen workers' understanding of industrial relations based on negotiations between employers and trade unions. 6. Unsurprisingly, Chinese workers' strikes are not only driven by economic interests. They are increasingly demanding more general workers' rights such as the right to form free trade unions outside the government controlled All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU); 7. It is noticeable that the younger generation of Chinese workers is more assertive and proactive than the older one. Born after the 1980s, this younger generation now forms the core of the Chinese workforce. It is better connected through the new means of social media and more confident at demanding a decent working environment. 8. Although China has not joined the ILO, a network of regional workers/labour scholars has gradually been established. They have increasingly interacted across different countries including, for example, South Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Several informal workshops of this network have been part of this research project. Overall, the role of Chinese workers within the Chinese form of state as well as the global political economy is still in the making. The outcome of these struggles is not only relevant for China, but also the wider world. |
| Exploitation Route | Chinese informal labour NGOs will find these results interesting for devising their strategies. NGOs in industrialised countries may find these results informative in relation to their engagement with informal labour NGOs in China. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Education,Government, Democracy and Justice |
| URL | https://chineselabour.wordpress.com/ |
| Description | There are two main ways, in which the project findings have had a direct impact on policy-making. First, Chun-Yi Lee was a key member of the organisation team of the Asian Labour Activist-Academics Dialogue, Yokohama, Japan, 13 July 2014, in which findings from the research project were discussed with activists and labour academics from other Asian countries including China, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan. Second, key findings were presented at our international workshop in September 2014. See https://chineselabour.wordpress.com/international-workshop/ This workshop was attended by representatives of Chinese informal labour NGOs as well as a representative of the International Transport Workers' Federation and a representative of the British NGO War on Want. As a result of their meeting at the international workshop, they organised an additional meeting at War on Want in London, where they discussed further co-operation with the goal of strengthening the position of Chinese workers in negotiations with employers and Chinese local government authorities. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2014 |
| Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Education,Government, Democracy and Justice |
| Impact Types | Societal,Economic |
| Description | ESRC IAA Impact Fund |
| Amount | £2,500 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Economic and Social Research Council |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 10/2015 |
| End | 10/2015 |
| Description | Andreas Bieler and Chun-Yi Lee (2014) 'Exploitation and Resistance: a comparative analysis of the Chinese cheap labour electronics and high - value added IT sectors'. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Participants in your research and patient groups |
| Results and Impact | Presentation at the international workshop 'Chinese Labour in the Global Economy, held at Nottingham University, 11 and 12 September 2014. This presentation was part of the international workshop, concluding this ESRC research project, held at Nottingham University on 11 and 12 September 2014. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | http://chineselabour.wordpress.com/international-workshop/ |
| Description | Asian Labour Activist-Academics Dialogue, Yokohama, Japan, July 13 2014. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The workshop brought together Labour activists from four countries: Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong. As a result of this workshop of practitioners on labour rights in Asia, various activists continue to stay in touch and exchange information about problems they face and strategies they adopt. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | Chun-Yi Lee (2012) 'The new trend of Chinese labour movement'. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Paper presented at St. Antony's College, University of Oxford/UK; 6 March. The paper deals with the new dynamics on the Chinese labour market resulting from the changing demands by the second generation of migrant workers. Several academic colleagues asked me to keep them updated with further findings from the project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| Description | Chun-Yi Lee (2012) 'World Factory without Workers? The New Facet of Chinese Workers' Strikes'. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Participants in your research and patient groups |
| Results and Impact | Paper presented at the Second ISA Forum of Sociology, Social Justice and Democratization, August 1-4, 2012 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I was approached by colleagues to participate in the exchange of related research outcomes. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| Description | Chun-Yi Lee (2013) 'Can China Upgrade from the World Factory?' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Participants in your research and patient groups |
| Results and Impact | International Conference on the Current Situation and Development of Labor Relations under Globalization, January 11-13 2013, Beijing, China. I exchanged project relevant information with Chinese labour academics. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| Description | Chun-Yi Lee (2013) 'Growing or Perishing: The Space of Labour NGOs in China.' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Participants in your research and patient groups |
| Results and Impact | Lecture presented at the International Conference on Civil Society Contribution to Policy Innovation in the PR China, University of Nottingham, UK; 4 September 2013. A good opportunity to disseminate results from the research project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| Description | Chun-Yi Lee (2013) 'Growing or Perishing? The development of labour NGOs in China'. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | International Labour Process Conference, March 18-20 2013, Rutgers University, U.S.A. I made contact with a range of practitioners involved with Chinese labour NGOs. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| Description | Chun-Yi Lee (2013) 'Workers at Transitional Society, the Case of China.' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Participants in your research and patient groups |
| Results and Impact | Presentation given at the International Forum for Contemporary Chinese Studies, University of Nottingham, UK; 5 to 8 September 2013. A very good opportunity to exchange information with academic colleagues working on related themes. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| Description | Chun-Yi Lee (2014) 'Grass-Root Labour Organisation in China: A Comparison of Pearl River Delta and Yangtze River Delta'. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presentation to Labour Now, Japanese labour activist group in Tokyo, 19 July 2014. Information about Chinese labour organisations for Japanese activists. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | Chun-Yi Lee (2014) 'Growing or Perishing: The Space of Labour NGOs in China.' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Participants in your research and patient groups |
| Results and Impact | Seminar presentation at Shanghai Finance University, China on 7 April 2014. Colleagues at the Shanghai Finance University want to stay in touch in order to exchange research results in the future. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | Chun-Yi Lee (2014) 'The Missing Link of Global Value Chain' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Participants in your research and patient groups |
| Results and Impact | Paper presented at the International Studies Association (ISA) 2014 Annual conference, Toronto/Canada; 29 March 2014. A major international academic conference, ideal to disseminate information and engage with fellow academics. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | Chun-Yi Lee (2014) 'Who to Decide 'Good Job' or 'Bad Job'? A Bargaining Game of Production: Case Study from Pearl River Delta'. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Co-authored paper with Dr. Huang Yen and presented at the ILPC conference at King's College London, April 7-9, 2014. Another opportunity to engage with practitioners related to labour NGOs in China. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | Conference presentation at the International Studies Association Forum in Wien/Austria, July 2016. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Yan HUANG and Chun-Yi Lee (2016) 'Who to Decide 'Good Job' or 'Bad Job'? a Bargaining Game of Production: Case Study from Pearl River Delta', paper distributed at the 3rd International Sociological Association (ISA) Forum of Sociology; Vienna/Austria, 10-14 July 2016. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | https://isaconf.confex.com/isaconf/forum2016/webprogram/Cluster198.html |
| Description | New Blog: Chinese Labour in the Global Economy, |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | In order to communicate research results with a wider audience, the blog Chinese Labour in the Global Economy was set up at http://chineselabour.blogspot.co.uk/ To date, the following posts have been published: March 18 2013 To be, or not to be http://chineselabour.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/to-be-or-not-to-be.html February 26 2013 Pretty Girls, Working on the Shop-Floor http://chineselabour.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/pretty-girls-working-on-shop-floor.html February 12 2013 Fighters of Chinese labour law: Li-Guan workers-Part One http://chineselabour.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/fighters-of-chinese-labour-law-li-guan.html December 9 2012 Collective Bargaining in China http://chineselabour.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/collective-bargaining-in-china.html October 1 2012 Can Chinese workers eat Apple? http://chineselabour.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/can-chinese-workers-eat-apple.html September 23 2012 Recovered Factories in Argentina: On the thought of Chinese workers http://chineselabour.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/recovered-factories-in-argentina-on_23.html September 16 2012 Gangster Nation-Not only an on-line game http://chineselabour.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/gangster-nationnot-only-on-line-game.html September 14 2012 Chinese labour in the global economy-ESRC large research grant http://chineselabour.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/chinese-labour-in-global-economy-esrc.html Engagement with broad audience and opportunity to advertise the project more widely. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| URL | http://chineselabour.blogspot.co.uk/ |
| Description | New website: Chinese Labour in the Global Economy. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Establishment of a project related website to ensure that the exchange of information around the project theme continues beyond the ESRC funded period. This website has already been mentioned in a number of tweets and re-tweets. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | http://chineselabour.wordpress.com/ |