How much do workers earn in China?
Has China ratified the fundamental human rights Conventions of the International Labour Organisation?
What is the International Metalworkers' Federation doing about workers’ rights in China?
Are workers’ rights protected in China?
Workers are not free to form or join a trade union of their choice in China, only the All China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) is recognised in law. Controlled by the ruling Chinese Communist Party, the ACFTU’s role is to represent the interests of workers, while at the same time assist the government in ensuring social and political stability.
There are no provisions for collective bargaining, only regulations on collective contracts exist. Most contracts are drawn up by employers, reflecting minimum legal requirements. There is no right to strike, however “work-stoppages” and “go-slows” are allowable by law in certain circumstances.
Workplace disputes are mostly settled through mediation at the enterprise level, arbitration or the courts, with courts increasingly chosen by workers as the forum where they believe they will get a fairer hearing.
Organisers of protests, disputes or worker groups are regularly arrested or harassed. Many are given prison sentences usually ranging from 2 years to life imprisonment. Officially called 'reform through labour,' prisoners are routinely subjected to forced labour at these prison camps, or Laogai. Despite efforts to keep workers quiet, labour disputes, individually and collectively, are on the rise. China experienced a 6.6 per cent increase in reported “public order disturbances” in 2005, to a total of 87,000 incidents, or 240 every day, following a 28 per cent rise from 2003 to 2004. However, protests tend to be localised, related to specific grievances and are poorly organised.
Lacking an effective trade union to represent their rights, workers in China have little hope of securing higher wages, fewer working hours, safer workplaces and improved job security.
What conditions of work do Chinese workers experience?
In the world’s manufacturing powerhouse, workers can expect low pay, excessive hours of work and poor working conditions. Factory workers often work 60 - 70 hours per week, live in dormitories with 8 – 16 people in each room, and earn less than the minimum wage.
In the event of an injury sustained at the workplace, which happens frequently because many plants fail to meet the most basic safety requirements, the worker’s only prospect is unemployment. According to official figures from the Chinese State Administration of Work Safety, some 15,000 people die each year in China due to industrial accidents.
Economic growth in China has resulted in a minimum number of new jobs. The restructuring of inefficient state-owned enterprises and the establishment of private enterprise has resulted in increased productivity, a lowering of conditions of work and increased prospects of unemployment. Unpaid wages, factory closures and arbitrary land seizures are frequently reported as the subject of worker protests in China.
How much do workers earn in China?
According to research published in 2005, workers in manufacturing enterprises located in cities, received a total compensation of US$0.95 per hour, while workers outside cities were compensated an average US$0.41 per hour. Altogether the average hourly manufacturing compensation estimated for China in 2002 was US$0.57. (See Judith Banister,
Manufacturing earnings and compensation in China, Monthly Labor Review, August 2005, for full details.)
Around 250 million people, or 16.6 per cent of the population in China, survive on less than US$ 1 a day. Close to 700 million, or 47 per cent of the population, live on less than US$ 2 a day. Inequality has been rising and China is now among the most unequal countries in the world.
Many people, despite working far in excess of the maximum number of working hours, do not receive a living wage and cannot afford to keep a family above the poverty line.
Has China ratified the International Labour Organisation (ILO)’s fundamental principles and rights at work Conventions?
China has ratified four out of the eight core labour Conventions of the ILO.
- China has not ratified the ILO Conventions on freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining (ILO Conventions No. 87 and No. 98).
- China has not ratified the ILO Conventions on the elimination of forced or compulsory labour (ILO Conventions No. 29 and No. 105). Forced labour exists in such forms as prison labour, legal punishment and forced prostitution of women.
- China has ratified the ILO Conventions on the abolition of child labour (ILO Conventions No. 138 and No. 182).
- China has ratified the ILO Conventions on the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation (ILO Conventions No. 100 and No. 111).
What is the International Metalworkers’ Federation (IMF) doing about workers’ rights in China?
At its Executive Committee meeting in May 2005, the IMF decided to establish contact with Chinese workers in transnational companies to discuss:
- The right to strike and freedom of association
- Fundamental international labour standards
- The effect of trade agreements on workers in China
- Organising, health and safety protection and collective agreements
The IMF also committed to:
- Investigate and expose violations of trade agreements and worker and human rights
- Exert influence to ensure that China ratifies and implements all eight core labour standards of the International Labour Organisation
- Influence transnational companies operating in China to adhere to core labour standards
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