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Global problems, local solutions: unfree labour relations and seafarer employment with crewing agencies in China

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  • Lijun Tang
  • Pengfei Zhang

Abstract

This article documents and discusses a local labour control regime employed by Chinese crewing agencies to restrict the mobility of newly graduated officer seafarers. The shipping industry relies on a stable and skilled seafarer workforce on flexible employment, assembled globally with the help of local crewing agencies. A stable workforce and flexible employment do not seem easily compatible. This article examines how Chinese crewing agencies help manage this tension in China through analysing the experience of seafarers. It argues that to cater for the demand of international shipping companies, Chinese crewing agencies adopt a particular local labour control regime that re/produces unfree labour relations. The local control regime is built on existing institutional practices in China, structural weaknesses of seafarers and the disjunctions between the local institutional set‐ups and the global chains of labour supply.

Suggested Citation

  • Lijun Tang & Pengfei Zhang, 2019. "Global problems, local solutions: unfree labour relations and seafarer employment with crewing agencies in China," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(3), pages 277-291, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:indrel:v:50:y:2019:i:3:p:277-291
    DOI: 10.1111/irj.12252
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    Cited by:

    1. Bin Wu & Glory Gu & Chris James Carter, 2021. "The bond and retention of Chinese seafarers for international shipping companies: a survey report," Journal of Shipping and Trade, Springer, vol. 6(1), pages 1-17, December.
    2. Lijun Tang, 2022. "Defending workers' rights on social media: Chinese seafarers during the COVID‐19 pandemic," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(2), pages 110-125, March.
    3. Zhiwei Zhao & David Walters & Desai Shan, 2020. "Impediments to free movement of Chinese seafarers in the maritime labour market," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 31(3), pages 425-443, September.

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