Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

Taming Labor: Workers’ struggles, workplace unionism and collective bargaining on a Chinese waterfront

Pringle, Tim; Meng, Quan

Taming Labor: Workers’ struggles, workplace unionism and collective bargaining on a Chinese waterfront Thumbnail


Authors

Quan Meng



Abstract

This paper draws on data acquired in semi-structured interviews to address the question of effective workplace trade unionism in China. These are rarely-sighted phenomena due to rigid prohibitions on organizing outside the Party-led All-China Federation of Trade Unions. Indeed some commentators are extinct. Evidence from a case study of the Yantian International Container Terminal suggests that this is not necessarily the case. The authors do not underestimate the very real constraints on labor organizing but rather turn the spotlight on working class power in the wider context of labor militancy and cautious trade union reform. We argue that the YICT union developed a system of annual collective bargaining in order to ‘tame’ the power of militant dockworkers and prevent strikes. This required an effective enterprise-level trade union that was nevertheless able to manipulate members’ somewhat ambiguous acceptance of its role.

Citation

Pringle, T., & Meng, Q. (2018). Taming Labor: Workers’ struggles, workplace unionism and collective bargaining on a Chinese waterfront. Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 71(5), 1053-1077. https://doi.org/10.1177/0019793918768791

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Sep 4, 2017
Online Publication Date Apr 12, 2018
Publication Date Apr 12, 2018
Deposit Date Oct 10, 2017
Publicly Available Date Oct 10, 2017
Print ISSN 0019-7939
Electronic ISSN 2162-271X
Publisher SAGE Publications
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 71
Issue 5
Pages 1053-1077
DOI https://doi.org/10.1177/0019793918768791
Keywords structural power, associational power, deflected associational power, strikes, trade unions, collective bargaining, All-China Federation of Trade Unions

Files

pringle-taming-labor-workers-struggles-workplace-unionism-and-collective-bargaining-on-a-chinese-waterfront.pdf (737 Kb)
PDF





You might also like



Downloadable Citations