IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/devchg/v53y2022i2p396-423.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Worker Activism and Enterprise Union Reform in China: A Case Study of Grassroots Union Agency in the Auto Parts Industry

Author

Listed:
  • Lu Zhang
  • Tao Yang

Abstract

Research on Chinese trade unions has privileged a state‐centred, structuralist approach, while the question of union agency has remained undertheorized. Seeking to overcome this limitation, this article examines the agency, the strategies and practice, and the limits and potentials of enterprise union reform in China's auto parts industry driven by worker activism since the wave of auto strikes in 2010. Drawing on in‐depth fieldwork conducted in Guangzhou and Chongqing between 2011 and 2017, the authors reveal variegated but constrained grassroots union agency and identify four key factors to explain the variations in the operation and reform of enterprise unions. Contrary to the common perception that Chinese trade unions are of no value to workers, the authors argue that, driven by worker activism and under specific circumstances, democratically elected enterprise unions are able to exploit certain operational space within the existing political and institutional constraints to carry out substantive collective bargaining and adaptive, incremental reforms, which have improved workers’ material well‐being and union representativeness and effectiveness. However, given the authoritarian regime and state‐controlled union structure, the space for grassroots union agency is severely restricted and contingent on broader political and economic environments. With growing state repression, the future of worker‐driven grassroots union reform is unclear.

Suggested Citation

  • Lu Zhang & Tao Yang, 2022. "Worker Activism and Enterprise Union Reform in China: A Case Study of Grassroots Union Agency in the Auto Parts Industry," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 53(2), pages 396-423, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:devchg:v:53:y:2022:i:2:p:396-423
    DOI: 10.1111/dech.12551
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/dech.12551
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/dech.12551?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Elaine Sio-ieng Hui & Chris King-chi Chan, 2015. "Beyond the Union-Centred Approach: A Critical Evaluation of Recent Trade Union Elections in China," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 53(3), pages 601-627, September.
    2. Simon Clarke & Chang‐Hee Lee & Qi Li, 2004. "Collective Consultation and Industrial Relations in China," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 42(2), pages 235-254, June.
    3. Chang-Hee Lee & William Brown & Xiaoyi Wen, 2016. "What Sort of Collective Bargaining Is Emerging in China?," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 54(1), pages 214-236, March.
    4. Simon Clarke & Tim Pringle, 2009. "Can party-led trade unions represent their members?," Post-Communist Economies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(1), pages 85-101.
    5. Kevin Gray & Youngseok Jang, 2015. "Labour Unrest in the Global Political Economy: The Case of China's 2010 Strike Wave," New Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(4), pages 594-613, August.
    6. Andreas Mulvad, 2015. "Competing Hegemonic Projects within China's Variegated Capitalism: 'Liberal' Guangdong vs. 'Statist' Chongqing," New Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(2), pages 199-227, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Fang Cooke, 2014. "Chinese industrial relations research: In search of a broader analytical framework and representation," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 31(3), pages 875-898, September.
    2. Elaine Sio‐ieng Hui, 2022. "Bottom‐Up Unionization in China: A Power Resources Analysis," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 60(1), pages 99-123, March.
    3. Yang Yao & Ninghua Zhong, 2013. "Unions and Workers' Welfare in Chinese Firms," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 31(3), pages 633-667.
    4. Morley K. Gunderson & Byron Y. Lee & Hui Wang, 2024. "Worker Congresses in China: Do they matter?," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 63(1), pages 43-58, January.
    5. Wei Huang, 2022. "What sort of workplace democracy can democratic management achieve in China?," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(6), pages 578-601, November.
    6. Chang-Hee Lee & William Brown & Xiaoyi Wen, 2016. "What Sort of Collective Bargaining Is Emerging in China?," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 54(1), pages 214-236, March.
    7. Eric Edwin Owusu & Charles Akomea Bonsu & Alfred Owusu & Daniel Ofori & Adwoa Benewaa Brefo-Manuh, 2022. "Assessing the Effects of Entrepreneurial Attributes and Business Practices on the Continuing Existence of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Using Deming Management Model of Total Quality as a Benchm," Business and Economic Research, Macrothink Institute, vol. 12(4), pages 56-83, December.
    8. Tugendhat, Henry & Alemu, Dawit, 2016. "Chinese Agricultural Training Courses for African Officials: Between Power and Partnerships," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 71-81.
    9. Jong-Woon Lee & Kevin Gray, 2016. "Neo-Colonialism in South–South Relations? The Case of China and North Korea," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 47(2), pages 293-316, March.
    10. Chantziaras, Antonios & Dedoulis, Emmanouil & Leventis, Stergios, 2020. "The impact of labor unionization on monitoring costs," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 288-307.
    11. Hebel, Jutta & Schucher, Günter, 2006. "The Emergence of a New 'Socialist' Market Labour Regime in China," GIGA Working Papers 39, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies.
    12. Scoones, Ian & Amanor, Kojo & Favareto, Arilson & Qi, Gubo, 2016. "A New Politics of Development Cooperation? Chinese and Brazilian Engagements in African Agriculture," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 1-12.
    13. Elaine Sio-ieng Hui & Chris King-chi Chan, 2015. "Beyond the Union-Centred Approach: A Critical Evaluation of Recent Trade Union Elections in China," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 53(3), pages 601-627, September.
    14. Alex Y Lo & Kang Chen & Anna Ka-yin Lee & Lindsay Qianqing Mai, 2020. "The neoliberal policy experimentation on carbon emission trading in China," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 38(1), pages 153-173, February.
    15. Chris King-Chi CHAN & Khalid NADVI, 2014. "Changing labour regulations and labour standards in China: Retrospect and challenges," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 153(4), pages 513-534, December.
    16. Zenglein, Max J., 2008. "Marketization of the Chinese labor market and the role of unions," GLU Working Papers 4, Global Labour University (GLU).
    17. Judith Shuqin Zhu & Chris Nyland, 2017. "Chinese employer associations, institutional complementarity and countervailing power," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 31(2), pages 284-301, April.
    18. Siri Terjesen & Jolanda Hessels, 2009. "Varieties of export-oriented entrepreneurship in Asia," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 26(3), pages 537-561, September.
    19. Diep Thi Ngoc Nguyen & Stephen T. T. Teo & Marcus Ho, 2018. "Development of human resource management in Vietnam: A semantic analysis," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 35(1), pages 241-284, March.
    20. Dong Hoang, 2019. "Labour Standards in the Global Supply Chain: Workers’ Agency and Reciprocal Exchange Perspective," Societies, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-25, May.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:devchg:v:53:y:2022:i:2:p:396-423. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0012-155X .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.