Workers’ Movement in China 2009-2011

By Dilip -
The report concludes that: 1./ Workers are becoming more proactive. They are taking the initiative and not waiting for the government or anyone else to improve their pay and working conditions. 2./ Their ability to organize is improving. A growing sense of unity among factory workers, combined with the use of mobile phones and social networking tools, has made it easier for workers to initiate, organize and sustain protests. 3./ Worker protests are becoming more successful. Recent protests have secured substantial pay increases, forced managements to abandon unpopular and exploitative work practices, and even stalled the proposed take-over and privatization of SOEs. 4./ The protests have created an embryonic collective bargaining system in China. The challenge now is to develop that basic model into an effective and sustainable system of collective bargaining.

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