Transcript Management and Labour relations in China Fang Lee Cooke, MBS, UK 1

Management and Labour relations in China
Fang Lee Cooke, MBS, UK
ANBS Fellow, Australia
1
Rural migrant labour in China: Trade union’s
response and organising strategy
Overview:
 The rapid growth and role of rural migrant labour in urban
economy
 Working conditions of rural migrant labour in urban areas
 The role of the Chinese trade union
 Trade union’s response to rural migrant labour
 Ways of organising
 Barriers to union organisation
Fang Lee Cooke, MBS, UK
ANBS Fellow, Australia
2
The rapid growth and role of rural migrant labour in
urban economy
 200 million rural migrant workers are
working in urban area
 Construction sites, foreign-owned
manufacturing factories, catering
industry, and community services the
main employing sites
 Rural migrant workers now make up over
46% of the workforce in the secondary
and tertiary industrial sectors
Fang Lee Cooke, MBS, UK
ANBS Fellow, Australia
3
80% of workers work in the construction and catering
industries are rural migrant workers
Fang Lee Cooke, MBS, UK
ANBS Fellow, Australia
4
Worst jobs, big contribution to urban
economy, but little rights
Fang Lee Cooke, MBS, UK
ANBS Fellow, Australia
5
Working conditions of rural migrant labour in urban
areas
 3/4 of the rural migrant workers did not receive their wage
payment on time
 Construction industry employers the worst offenders – local
governments among the worst debters
 84% of the migrant workers have no employment contract
 Over 80% of those suffered in work-related injuries in non-stateowned sector were rural migrant workers – mining, construction &
manufacturing among the worst sectors
Fang Lee Cooke, MBS, UK
ANBS Fellow, Australia
6
Fingers crossed/chopped off?
While children are
wishing for their best
Christmas and
birthday gifts in the
West, the Chinese
workers are losing
their fingers in their
production
Fang Lee Cooke, MBS, UK
ANBS Fellow, Australia
7
Working conditions of rural migrant labour in urban
areas (cont…)
 Over 80% of the rural migrant workers did not participate in any
form of social insurance
 25% of rural migrant workers earned below local minimum wage,
45% had no rest day
 Less than 10% of the rural migrant workers ever received any
training – leading to more industrial accidents
Fang Lee Cooke, MBS, UK
ANBS Fellow, Australia
8
Living conditions of rural migrant labour in urban areas
 The vast majority of migrant workers live in very poor environment in crowded dormitories and eat in crude canteens to economise on
their social reproduction cost and maximise production time
 Social discrimination & exclusion another problem endured by rural
migrant workers & their families living in urban areas, e.g.
– Little coverage of social insurance & welfare
– No access to education for their children
– May be subject to discrimination & bullying
– Lack of respect from urban citizens
 Social discrimination regarded by migrant workers as the most
formidable social barriers to their integration into the urban life
 Consequences – mingong huang (shortage of rural labour)
Fang Lee Cooke, MBS, UK
ANBS Fellow, Australia
9
Reasons for mingong huang
• Low wage & work intensity main reasons for shortage of labour, e.g.
– In Guangdong Province wage only increased 68 yuan in 12 years
– A migrant worker in this area earns 6,000 yuan a year, while the average
annual wage of all workers has been increasing by more than 1,000
yuan per year to 14,040 yuan in 2003
• Improved farming policy has made farming less unbearable – tax
relief
• Developed areas no longer have the monopsony of job markets –
plants are moving towards western regions for cheaper labour and
other costs
Fang Lee Cooke, MBS, UK
ANBS Fellow, Australia
10
Reasons for mingong huang (cont…)
• Rural migrant workers choose to work nearer hometown for
cultural proximity
• Reduction of young workers as a result of one-child policy
• Retention of skilled migrant workers – workers jump ships
collectively for better wage and better working conditions/better
treatment
• Lack of labour market information – mismatch of demand and
supply
• Lack of supply of skilled labour and excessive supply of unskilled
labour
Fang Lee Cooke, MBS, UK
ANBS Fellow, Australia
11
Trade union’s response to rural migrant labour
 Little interest of the TU on rural migrant workers until recently
 TUs instructed by the Government in late 1994 to launch a
campaign ‘to set up unions in all the non-unionised foreigninvested enterprises, with the ultimate declared purpose of
implementing collective bargaining’
 Success was limited – only 32% of non-state-owned firms are
unionised – even less clear of its impact on workers
 By the end of 2004, there were about 20 million rural migrant
worker union members. ACFTU set a target to recruit 6.6 million
each year in the next four years
 Policy drive at the top is not always embraced with enthusiasm at
grassroot level
Fang Lee Cooke, MBS, UK
ANBS Fellow, Australia
12
The role of the trade unions
– TU-Communist party tie goes back to 1920s (1st May 1925
founded)
– Only one union recognised – All-China Federation of Trade
Unions (no ‘trade’ characteristics)
– Welfare role and training role under the leadership of the
Communist Party
– Unionisation level high in the state sector but low in private
sector
– Trade unions more organised and competent in certain sector
(e.g. large SOEs) but influence in management decisions is
generally declining
– Union presence has little impact on wage level
Fang Lee Cooke, MBS, UK
ANBS Fellow, Australia
13
The role of the trade unions (cont…)
– Misguided perceptions of managers and TU reps about their role
– Union reps lack of collective bargaining or negotiation skills and
other resources
– Low opinion of workers on the effectiveness of the TU
– New role of the trade unions in light of changing employment
relations?
– Trade Union Law (1950, 2001)
Fang Lee Cooke, MBS, UK
ANBS Fellow, Australia
14
TU structure at local levels
Municipal government
District
government
ACWF at
Municipal level
ACFTU at
Municipal level
District level
governmental
departments
ACWF at
district level
ACFTU at
district level
ACWF at
county level
ACFTU at
county level
ACWF at
township level
ACFTU at
township level
Trade union
units in
workplaces at
municipal level
ACWF at
village level
Fang Lee Cooke, MBS, UK
ANBS Fellow, Australia
15
Table 1. Union membership level in organisations where unions
were established
No. of
grassroots
unions
(1,000 units)
No. of
employees
(1,000
persons)
1952
207
13,932
--
10,023
--
71.9
53
1962
165
26,671
--
19,220
--
72.1
86
1979
329
68,972
21,717
51,473
--
74.6
179
1980
376
74,482
25,186
61,165
--
82.1
243
1985
465
96,430
35,967
85,258
31,492
88.4
381
1990
606
111,569
42,910
101,356
38,977
90.8
556
1995
593
113,214
45,153
103,996
41,165
91.9
468
2000
859
114,721
45,345
103,615
39,173
90.3
482
2001
1,538
129,970
50,879
121,523
46,966
93.5
--
2002
1,713
144,615
51,576
133,978
46,652
92.6
472
2003
906
133,016
50,793
123,405
46,012
92.8
465
2004
1,020
144,367
55,026
136,949
51,353
94.9
456
Year
No. of
Female
employees
(1,000
persons)
Membership
(1,000
persons)
No. of
female
members
(1,000
persons)
Membership
density (%)
No. of fulltime union
officials
(1,000
persons)
Source: adapted from the China Statistics Yearbook 2005, p.777.
Fang Lee Cooke, MBS, UK
ANBS Fellow, Australia
16
Two ways of organising rural migrant workers
Workplace organisation – to gain recognition and then organise
1.
–
Difficult to gain access but membership level is usually high at
over 90% once a union is recognised
–
Less cost and more employer support
–
TU on site mainly play HR function and welfare role
–
Limited bargaining effect
–
Less competition from other service providers
–
Union activities and governing framework more workplacespecific
Fang Lee Cooke, MBS, UK
ANBS Fellow, Australia
17
Two ways of organising (cont…)
Distant organisation – recruit migrant workers outside the
workplace by offering them a range of services, e.g. training,
employment information, legal help
2.
–
More costly but greater impact of information dissemination
–
Individual worker oriented instead of collective
–
Workers less identified with the TU
–
More competition from other service providers
Fang Lee Cooke, MBS, UK
ANBS Fellow, Australia
18
Barriers to union organisation
 Persistent employer resistance – union recognition seen as
‘inviting wolf into the house’
 Tactics are used to delay union access
 Competing demand on local government in developing local
economy & protect workers’ rights – ineffective enforcement of
Trade Union Law and Labour law
 Disinterest from rural migrant workers to join TU due to the
perceived inefficacy of the trade union
Fang Lee Cooke, MBS, UK
ANBS Fellow, Australia
19
Barriers to union organisation (cont…)
 Union recognition have little impact on wage level or coverage of
social insurance
 Logistic problems for TU to organise & retain migrant workers
members
 Insufficiency of professional competence among union officials at
operational level, e.g. legal knowledge, other professional skills
 Lack of resources – financial constraints and job threat
Fang Lee Cooke, MBS, UK
ANBS Fellow, Australia
20
For years, MNCs like Wal-Mart have resisted the call for
union recognition
Fang Lee Cooke, MBS, UK
ANBS Fellow, Australia
21
Competing service providers
 Local governments
 Job centres
 Training centres
 Employment agencies
 Legal aid centres
 Tongxiang hui (unofficial associations of fellow migrant workers
from the same region or village)
Fang Lee Cooke, MBS, UK
ANBS Fellow, Australia
22
Ways forward for the unions
 Join forces with other service providers
 Bargain for more resources from the
Government
 Seek closer alliances with NGOs to exert pressure on
employers
 Training and development of union officials
 Closer partnership with local governments and employers
 Educate workers and build trust and identification
 More innovative delivery of effective services to workers
Fang Lee Cooke, MBS, UK
ANBS Fellow, Australia
23
Table 2. The disposal of labour disputes (2003)
Item
No. of cases left over from last period
(case)
Cases accepted (case)
No. of cases appealed by employer
No. of cases appealed by worker
No. of collective labour disputes
No. of persons involved (person)
No. of persons involved in
collective disputes
Cause of the disputes (case)
Labour remuneration
Social insurance & welfare
Work injury
Occupational training
Change of labour contract
Relieve of labour contract
Termination of labour contract
Laid-off
Others
No. of cases settled (case)
By manners of settlement
By mediation
By arbitration lawsuit
Others
By result of settlement
Won by employers
Won by workers
Won partly by both parties
No. of cases unsettled (case)
Number of cases settled by other
forms (case)
Total
Stateowned
enterprises
Collectiveowned
enterprises
16,276
4,263
1,483
Hong Kong,
Macao, Taiwan
and Foreign
Funded
Enterprises
2,061
226,391
10,879
215,512
10,823
801,042
514,573
48,771
3,158
45,613
3,623
309,439
294,794
30,218
1,357
28,861
1,519
97,501
47,796
76,774
44,434
31,747
1,211
5,494
40,017
12,043
1,540
13,131
223,503
12,637
11,025
4,936
313
1,796
10,702
3,671
570
3,121
49,528
67,765
95,774
59,954
34,272
109,556
79,475
19,164
58,451
Share holding
Joint
Ownership
Enterprises
Limited
Liability
Corporations
Private
Enterprises
Individual
Economy
State Organs
and
Institutions
Others
1,981
3,056
1,895
386
488
663
23,391
1,124
22,264
1,121
89,621
45,798
23,451
884
22,567
733
63,649
18,456
47,814
2,438
45,376
1,801
126,537
54,613
31,537
1,257
30,280
1,248
73,627
37,720
9,603
270
9,333
343
19,763
6,880
5,937
255
5,682
221
9,532
3,704
5,669
136
5,536
214
11,373
4,812
10,168
6,903
3,586
213
684
4,944
1,918
438
1,364
29,376
7,775
3,807
3,425
186
480
5,090
1,608
49
971
20,692
8,351
4,676
2,568
221
701
3,561
1,217
185
1,791
23,557
16,903
9,307
7,464
91
823
8,310
1,708
102
3,106
48,105
12,244
5,358
6,633
103
513
4,231
1,039
44
1,372
31,092
4,571
925
2,213
30
116
917
281
57
493
9,312
1,367
1,423
390
16
215
1,524
382
54
566
6,062
2,758
1,010
532
38
166
738
219
41
347
5,779
13,592
23,344
12,592
9,783
12,487
7,106
6,511
9,182
4,999
7,105
10,082
6,370
14,322
20,356
13,427
10,432
11,910
8,750
3,229
3,807
2,276
1,806
2,160
2,096
985
2,446
2,338
9,375
24,636
15,517
3,506
11,404
4,370
16,298
8,708
2,325
8,231
3,101
9,733
7,858
4,760
9,276
4,193
9,954
9,410
1,875
3,897
6,567
21,845
19,693
2,765
11,711
3,712
15,878
11,502
2,340
8,172
880
5,462
2,970
677
3,848
1,239
2,730
2,093
363
1,050
835
3,020
1,724
553
862
Source: China Statistical Yearbook 2004, pp. 876-7.
Fang Lee Cooke, MBS, UK
ANBS Fellow, Australia
24
Table 3. Trends of labour disputes in China (1994-2004)
Year
No. of cases accepted
Total
cases
Collective
cases
Increase from
previous year (%)
Total
cases
Collective
cases
No. of employees involved
In total
cases
In collective
cases
Increase from previous
year (%)
In total
cases
In collective
cases
Cases
settled
Means of settlement
Mediation
Arbitration
Others
cases
% of
total
cases
% of
total
cases
% of
total
1994
19,098
1,482
--
--
77,794
52,637
--
68
17,962
9,362
52
3,465
19
5,135
29
1995
33,030
2,588
73
75
122,512
77,340
58
63
31,415
17,990
57
7,269
23
6,156
20
1996
47,951
3,150
45
22
189,120
92,203
54
49
46,543
24,223
52
12,789
27
9,531
20
1997
71,524
4,109
49
30
221,115
132,647
17
60
70,792
32,793
46
15,060
21
22,939
32
1998
93,649
6,767
31
65
358,531
251,268
62
70
92,288
31,483
34
25,389
28
35,155
38
1999
120,191
9,043
28
34
473,957
319,241
32
67
121,289
39,550
33
34,712
29
47,027
39
2000
135,206
8,247
13
-9
422,617
259,445
-11
61
130,688
41,877
32
54,142
41
34,699
27
2001
154,621
9,847
15
19
467,150
286,680
11
62
150,279
42,933
29
72,250
48
35,096
23
2002
184,116
11,024
19
12
608,396
374,956
30
63
178,744
50,925
29
77,340
43
50,479
28
2003
226,391
10,823
23
-2
801,042
514,573
32
37
223,503
67,765
30
95,774
43
59,954
27
2004
260,471
19,241
15
78
764,981
477,992
-5
-7
258,678
83,400
32
110,708
43
64,550
25
Sources: adapted from China Statistical Yearbook, from 1995 to 2005.
Fang Lee Cooke, MBS, UK
ANBS Fellow, Australia
25
Table 4. Labour dispute cases classified by reasons for disputes
in China (1997-2003)
Year
Total cases
Pay,
insurance &
welfare
% of total
cases
Labour
protection /
work injury
% of total
cases
Alteration or
termination
of contract
% of total
cases
Others
% of total
cases
1997
71,524
41,145
58
2,256
3
18,673
26
9,450
13
1998
93,649
51,602
55
6,931
7
20,661
22
14,455
15
1999
120,191
73,522
61
7,820
7
29,608
25
9,241
8
2000
135,206
73,021
54
13,008
10
35,794
27
13,383
10
2001
154,621
76,330
49
18,171
12
43,590
28
16,530
11
2002
184,116
91,766
50
23,936
13
49,782
27
18,632
10
2003
226,391
121,208
54
31,747
14
59,094
26
14,342
6
Sources: adapted from China Statistical Yearbook, from 1998 to 2004.
Fang Lee Cooke, MBS, UK
ANBS Fellow, Australia
26
Table 5. Labour disputes appealed and settled by arbitration
committees in China (1995-2004)
By result of settlement
Year
Cases
% of total
Cases
% of total
Cases
Cases
settled
Cases
Cases partly won by
both parties
Cases won by
employees
Cases won by
employers
Appealed by
employees
Appealed by
employers
% of total
Cases
% of total
Cases
% of total
1995
33,030
--
--
--
--
31,415
6,189
20
16,272
52
8,954
28
1996
47,951
6,254
13
41,697
87
46,543
9,452
20
23,696
51
13,395
29
1997
71,524
2,751
4
68,773
96
70,792
11,488
16
40,063
57
19,241
27
1998
93,649
4,446
5
84,829
91
92,288
11,937
13
48,650
53
27,365
30
1999
120,191
6,039
5
114,152
95
121,289
15,674
13
63,030
52
37,459
31
2000
135,206
5,985
4
120,043
89
130,688
13,699
10
70,544
54
37,247
29
2001
154,621
7,840
5
146,781
95
150,279
31,544
21
71,739
48
46,996
31
2002
184,116
11,863
6
172,253
94
178,744
27,017
15
84,432
47
67,295
38
2003
226,391
10,879
5
215,512
95
223,503
34,272
15
109,556
49
79,475
36
2004
260,471
11,136
4
249,335
96
258,678
35,679
14
123,268
48
94,041
36
Sources: adapted from China Statistical Yearbook, from 1996 to 2005.
Fang Lee Cooke, MBS, UK
ANBS Fellow, Australia
27
Fang Lee Cooke, MBS, UK
ANBS Fellow, Australia
28