China’s only officially authorized trade union the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) has traditionally allied itself with the business community in a bid to maintain social peace and avoid strike action and demonstrations. In spring 2015 the government published a directive requiring party bureaucrats and senior members across the country to “allow the establishment of harmonious industrial relations as an urgent priority,’ in order to safeguard “healthy economic growth”. In November 2015 the ACFTU launched a reform of its own organization and a summary report evaluating the reform was published recently.
Reform: main elements. Given the rising number of industrial disputes the issue of union reform became inevitable. Following a pause at the start of 2016, 1.77 million individual labor disputes occurred in 2016 according to an MOHRSS spokesperson (Ministry of Human Resources and Social Services), and the Ministry is preparing plans for reforming the China’s labor dispute resolution mediation and arbitration mechanism.
Do you have information to share with us?