Labour and human rights

Two trademarks of Chinese economic reform, large-scale restructuring and privatisation of state-owned enterprises as well as  with the dismantling of the traditional welfare system, have weakened the position of Chinese workers in both rural and urban areas. Workers are no longer entitled to guaranteed life-long employment with free or subsidised housing, pensions, and medical care but instead they have to face stiff competition in a new system of contract labour. Moreover, in the absence of a functioning nationwide social security system and effective union representation, e.g. through the All-China Federation of Trade Unions whose independence has been repeatedly questioned, the gradual withdrawal of the Chinese government from the economy has led to a severe degradation of working conditions in factories across China.

Chinese workers today

China has ratified the majority of International Labor Organization (ILO) conventions, including four of the eight, core labour conventions, namely on equal remuneration, discrimination, the worst forms of child labour, and minimum age. It has not ratified the conventions on the freedom of association and protection of the right to organise, the abolition of forced labour, the right ot organise and collective bargaining, and the forced labour convention. Critics of Chinese labour conditions argue that China's present mode of development threatens the country's overall social stability. They routinely point to the growing number of violent uprisings and protests against factory owners and local governments. Official arbitration committees have registered 447.000 labour dispute cases involving 680.000 employees in 2006. Chinese and international media alike also frequently report on work place accidents for example in China's coal mining industry. Despite claims that the drive to shut down illegal mines has improved the safety situation, official statistics still counted a total of 4,746 killed Chinese coal miners in 2006 alone.

Migrant workers and labour rights

One group of workers that is especially vulnerable are migrant workers. The Chinese government estimates their total number between 100-200 million. Chinese migrant workers traditionally originate from rural inland provinces such as Anhui or Hunan and their most popular destinations still are the Yangzi and the Perl River Delta where most factories are located. Even though in some places in Southern China the migrant population already outnumbers the local population, China's rigid household registration system (hukou system) does not allow them to register as urban citizens thus effectively denying them the corresponding health care and social benefits that are much higher than in rural China.

Ways forward

Foreign companies operating in China either on their own or together with Chinese partners cannot afford  to turn a blind eye on labour rights or human rights issues anymore. Several chambers of commerce or institutes such as the Danish Institute for Human Rights provide general information and detailed check lists that help to assess and address individual companies' risks. To name just one example, the 'US Business Principles for Human Rights of Workers in China' lists ten principles that multinational companies should follow when active in China. After all, companies need to closely monitor their own labour record and those of their Chinese partners precisely because union representation, freedom of speech, and collective bargaining remain highly sensitive in China.

Recommended reading...