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Navigating Labour Agency in China: Analyzing Class Struggle and State Strategies

This article examines the evolving landscape of labour relations in China, specifically focusing on the Guangdong region. It explores the role of class struggle in shaping these relations and how the state is working towards achieving 'harmony' in labour dynamics. The study delves into the emergence of a resistance movement within the labour force and evaluates the influence of the All China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) in this context. By analyzing the shifts in power dynamics, labour activism, and key strikes in the region, the article aims to provide insights into the complexities of labour agency in China. It also discusses the implications of these developments on the international labour movement and the potential for change within China's labour landscape.

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Navigating Labour Agency in China: Analyzing Class Struggle and State Strategies

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  1. Labour Relations in ChinaManchester Industrial Relations Society19/03/15 Tim Pringle SOAS, University of London tp21@soas.ac.uk

  2. MAIN ARGUMENTS • Class struggle is driving changes to labour relations especially Guangdong • The outcome of this struggle is rooted in the workplace but impacts on other oppressions • That the state is seeking ways to bring ‘harmony’ to labour relations including: • Slowing rates of informalisation • collective bargaining • A ‘class against capital’

  3. LABOUR AGENCY IN CHINAan emerging movement of resistance?

  4. CONTEXT • Transition from a command economy to a market economy • 15th Party Congress • SOE restructuring • An unmaking • A ‘moment’ of (failed) resistance • Private capital and the ‘peasant worker’ • Particularities • Household registration • Absence of freedom of association • No clear right to strike • And the elephant in the room…..

  5. ALL CHINA FEDERATION OF TRADE UNIONS(ACFTU)

  6. ACFTU • Huge! • Party led • The main problem? • 老板说了算 • Politically powerful • Organisationally weak • Lack of experience in capitalist labour relations • (Probably) never led a strike • Under pressure from below and above • Entirely monolithic • Pilots

  7. Class formation农民工 • Household registration • Exclusion from urban welfare • Peasant workers and the ACFTU • How the state constructs labour • ‘Working sister’ narratives/workers as children • How capital engages with labour • ‘Nimble fingers’ • Work deposits • Dormitory regime • Wage arrears • Minimum wage • managing expectations? • Guangdong

  8. Guangdong • Decentralisation 天高皇帝远 • Export orientated • Foreign direct investment • Deeply integrated with world trade system • Migration • Feminisation

  9. Political economy of Guangdong • Led China’s jobs-led development project • Re-shaped the relationship between state, capital and class • ‘Pragmatic authoritarianism’ – the construction of a legal framework for labour relations • Pioneered emergence of civil society • Qualified tolerance of NGOs • Pioneered trade union reform • Trade union elections • Experiments with collective bargaining • Pioneered changes to registration system • Most labour-capital disputes

  10. Change in the balance of class forces • Rise of labour militancy • Labour shortages • Labour NGOs • Legal activism and rights consciousness • ‘Class against capital’ • From rights to interests • From protests to strikes

  11. Four key strikes • Yantian port workers • increase wage • Workers select their own reps • Honda auto workers • Increase wage • Re-organisation of trade union • Yue Yuen shoe workers • Social insurance premiums • Watch this space… • Street cleaners

  12. Some thoughts… • Globalisation and structural power • From collective bargaining ‘by riot’ to state-led collective bargaining • From structural power to associational power • Relevance of union reform/renewal? • Linking these developments to international labour movement • Does China demonstrate the impossibility of an international labour movement or its promise?

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