Labour relations, production regimes and labour conflicts in the Chinese automotive industry

Lüthje, Boy

doi:10.1111/j.1564-913x.2014.00215.x

Cited by 25 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…The fifth section then provides further discussion about the role of the trade unions in the strike and their broader role in taking the company's collective wage bargaining arrangement forward. The paper extends existing knowledge of Chinese labour disputes/relations by highlighting the agency role of union actors at the grassroots level, and in doing so, responds to Lüthje's () call for a more informed understanding of the fragmentation and segmentation of labour relation practices even within the same industrial sector in a large country.…”

mentioning

confidence: 69%

“…Third, the transformation of industrial relations calls for, and may bring, fundamental changes to the Chinese trade unions (e.g. Chang ; Lüthje ).…”

Section: Predicament Of the Trade Unions In China: Institutional Posimentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The 2010summer strike wave sparked another wave of research interest in labour disputes in China (e.g. Chan and Hui ; Chang ; Chin and Liu ; Elfstrom and Kuruvilla ; Lüthje ; Lyddon et al. ).…”

Section: Strikes In China: Causes Of Industrial Actions and The Role mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Extant studies have also assessed the implications of the strikes for trade union reforms (e.g. Hui and Chan ; Lüthje ). In particular, it is believed that strikes have led to the democratic election of grassroots union representatives at workplaces, i.e.…”

Section: Strikes In China: Causes Of Industrial Actions and The Role mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Hui and Chan ); and the introduction of collective bargaining regulations at the regional level (e.g. Lüthje ).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Layers of union organising and representation: the case study of a strike in a Japanese‐funded auto plant in China

Cheng

Cooke

2018

Asia Pac J Human Res

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Research on trade unions in China has commonly pointed to their inefficacy in organising and representing the workers as a formal institutional actor in industrial relations. Few empirical studies have examined the differing role of the unions at various levels during a strike through an in‐depth study of the strike process and its settlement. This study addresses this research gap through a case study of a strike that took place in 2010 in a Japanese‐funded auto plant in southern China. The paper extends existing knowledge of Chinese labour disputes/relations by highlighting the agency role of union actors at the grassroots level. We argue for a more nuanced view in understanding union officials’ and representatives’ respective roles and agency underpinned by their personal ideology, organisational resources and the broader political environment. These complexities and nuances shape the strike outcomes and the ensuing changes in the labour relations of each case company. This study makes a contribution towards the decent work agenda in China by demonstrating, through empirical evidence, what trade unions can do to help workers improve their employment terms and conditions at the workplace level.

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mentioning

confidence: 69%

“…Third, the transformation of industrial relations calls for, and may bring, fundamental changes to the Chinese trade unions (e.g. Chang ; Lüthje ).…”

Section: Predicament Of the Trade Unions In China: Institutional Posimentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Strikes In China: Causes Of Industrial Actions and The Role mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Strikes In China: Causes Of Industrial Actions and The Role mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Hui and Chan ); and the introduction of collective bargaining regulations at the regional level (e.g. Lüthje ).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Layers of union organising and representation: the case study of a strike in a Japanese‐funded auto plant in China

Cheng

Cooke

2018

Asia Pac J Human Res

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Comparing National and Industry-Specific Trajectories of Economic and Social Upgrading as Well as Various Strategic Solutions

Dünhaupt

Herr

Mehl

et al. 2022

Economic and Social Upgrading in Global Value Chains

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Labor-Management Relations in Autocratic Regimes

Cooke

Wood

2022

Handbook of Labor, Human Resources and Population Economics

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This chapter examines contemporary labor-management relations in autocratic regimes, drawing on two sets of countries, namely transitional peripheral economies in Central Asia (Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan) and hierarchical market economies in Latin America (Colombia and Honduras), for analysis. We discuss the political economy, work, and labor relations of these countries, highlighting the role of the state, business, and international non-government organizations. We also take into account the impact of large-scale (often in millions) migration of workers both internally within the country and cross-border. It is important to note that, just as there are different types of democratic systems, there are also different types of autocratic regimes with distinct political, economic, and social policy orientations, and this directly impacts the nature of labor relations. Under Latin American right-wing authoritarianism, a primary focus is on supporting a relatively small property-owning elite, and any countervailing worker power is seen as a direct attack on the latter. Even if workers have employment rights under the law, this zero-sum game view frequently results in extra-legal attacks on worker activists and their representatives, making union organization an extremely dangerous business.In contrast, the Central Asian autocracies, business elites are tied up within extended clan networks. Especially within Uzbekistan, a much closer emphasis has been placed on the provision of a critical mass of jobs as a means of buying political stability. Unions have been afforded a place in the system both for historical reasons and as proof of an ability to create a critical mass of decent work; at the same time, there is little room for union autonomy.

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Labour relations, production regimes and labour conflicts in the Chinese automotive industry

Cited by 25 publications

References 20 publications

Layers of union organising and representation: the case study of a strike in a Japanese‐funded auto plant in China

Layers of union organising and representation: the case study of a strike in a Japanese‐funded auto plant in China

Comparing National and Industry-Specific Trajectories of Economic and Social Upgrading as Well as Various Strategic Solutions

Labor-Management Relations in Autocratic Regimes

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