Overcoming Collective Action Problems Facing Chinese Workers: Lessons from Four Protests against Walmart

Li, Chunyun; Liu, Mingwei

doi:10.1177/0019793918784516

Cited by 20 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Furthermore, newer forms of union organising, including union associations and regional or industry-based bargaining are emerging and seen as promising initiatives to promote union presence and independence (Liu, 2010).The Party is also increasingly comfortable with trade unions opposing exploitive practices in foreign-owned multinationals. Strikes and labour unrest have occurred, prompting the attention of the government to encourage unions to foster cooperation rather than behaving in an adversarial fashion (Li and Liu, 2018;Zhu et al, 2011).…”

Section: Institutional Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do local union strategies explain the (unexpected) union pay premium in China?

Yao

Gunderson

2021

IJM

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PurposeThe authors investigate the extent to which differences in provincial union legislation have impacts on the union earnings premium.Design/methodology/approachContent analysis of provincial union regulations of 25 provinces is conducted to create two indices: one reflecting the degree of stringency of the local requirement that unions be established in a timely fashion and the other reflecting requirements for employers to negotiate wages with the union. The authors use individual level data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) of 2010 to estimate the union earnings premium.FindingsThe authors find that unionised workers in China receive an earnings premium ranging from 6.4 to 9.6%, which is in range of other studies (but not all) for China that tend to find a (perhaps surprising) union wage premium in spite of the fact that unions tend to be “company unions” designed to foster stability and growth and to serve as a transmission belt for the wishes of the Party rather than bargaining for the benefit of their members. The authors also find that provincial requirements to establish unions in a timely fashion enhance the impact of unions on the earnings of their members, but provincial requirements to negotiate wages dampen the effect of unions on the earnings of their members. Reasons for these results are discussed.Originality/valueDespite this lack of independence of the Chinese unions, research continuously finds that Chinese unions have effects that are surprisingly similar to those of unions in Western countries. This paper drills deeper into the underlying mechanisms to see if local union strategies, exemplified by provincial union legislation, can explain the unexpected union effects on compensation. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper to do so. Moreover, the authors use individual-level data in contrast to most studies on China that use firm or provincial level aggregate data.

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Section: Institutional Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do local union strategies explain the (unexpected) union pay premium in China?

Yao

Gunderson

2021

IJM

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“…Recently, the workplace unions have been becoming more democratic and more actively protecting workers’ interests, promoting workers’ personal development and intervening in labour disputes (Friedman, 2014b; Sun and Bray, 2014). Recent experiments in union reform, such as direct elections of workplace union chairs and professionalization of union cadres at the community level, may contribute to the future emergence of representative workplace unions (Howell, 2008; Li and Liu, 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is mediation the preferred procedure in labour dispute resolution systems? Evidence from employer–employee matched data in China

Feng

Xie

2019

Journal of Industrial Relations

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This study explores procedural preferences in the historical development of labour dispute resolution systems at the national level and employees’ pre-experience preference to resolve disputes at the individual level. Drawing on two datasets – one from national public statistics and one from China’s employer–employee matched data – we find that mediation has fluctuated in its use and efficacy, and it has re-emerged as an important method to stabilize labour relations. Employees choose internal mediation only if they feel that the enterprise’s mediation committee is selected fairly. Organizational structure factors, such as the enterprise’s size and the effectiveness of the Staff and Workers Representative Congress, moderate the relationship between employees’ perceptions of justice and procedural preferences. This study contributes to the dispute resolution literature by highlighting the interactions between individual perceptions of justice and organizational factors of procedural preference. Additionally, practical implications are offered to aid in the design of dispute resolution systems and improve organizational justice.

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“…Other similar cases in China, e.g. against Walmart, have since followed (see Li and Mingwei, 2018). While digital tools can facilitate coordination and increase strategic capacities of workers, this should not be confused with or downplay the importance of offline organizational capacity-building (i.e.…”

Section: The Case Of Yue Yuenmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exercising associational and networked power through the use of digital technology by workers in global value chains

Helmerich

Raj‐Reichert

Zajak

2020

Competition & Change

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While there are heated debates about how digitalization affects production, management and consumption in the context of global value chains, less attention is paid to how workers use digital technologies to organize and formulate demands and hence exercise power. This paper explores how workers in supplier factories in global value chains use different digital tools to exercise and enhance their power resources to improve working conditions. Combining the global value chain framework and concepts from labour sociology on worker power, the paper uses examples from the garment industry in Honduras and the footwear industry in China to show how workers used old and new digital tools to create and enhance associational and networked powers. Digital tools were used by workers and their allies in the global value chain to lower costs of communication, increase information exchange and participate in transnational campaigns during labour struggles vis-à-vis firms and governments in structurally and politically repressive environments. The paper contributes to our understanding of how workers use of digital technologies to exercise and combine different resources of power in online and offline actions in global value chains, as well as how they are confronted by new dimensions of constrains which include digital surveillance and control by the state.

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Overcoming Collective Action Problems Facing Chinese Workers: Lessons from Four Protests against Walmart

Cited by 20 publications

References 35 publications

Do local union strategies explain the (unexpected) union pay premium in China?

Do local union strategies explain the (unexpected) union pay premium in China?

Is mediation the preferred procedure in labour dispute resolution systems? Evidence from employer–employee matched data in China

Exercising associational and networked power through the use of digital technology by workers in global value chains

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