China's Strike Wave and the Prospects for Labor Relations Reform

Liu Cheng from Shanghai Normal University will give a talk on labor relations in China at UCLA.

The Honda strike and its following strikes have attracted worldwide attention and without a doubt, this strike wave will surely have important influence on labor relations in China. With China being a “World Factory”, and having one fourth of the world labor force, the effect of this strike wave will also have a global influence on labor relations.  Already the strike wave is bringing about labor relations reform reinforcing international solidarity. Guangzhou Municipal Federation of Trade Unions has supervised direct election of union leaders at these factories, and tried to cooperate with foreign unions to confront multinational corporations dominated by globalization.  The All-China Federation of Trade Unions has expressed interest in granting company unions the litigant right on behalf of workers by way of legislation. As for the legislation of the right to strike and the freedom of association, it’s early for China. A tradition of limited democracy and freedom in the country necessitates careful practice and planning, otherwise movements could be weakened by internal struggles.