Home | CLB

A Turning Point for China’s Trade Unions

We may have reached a crucial turning point in the history of China’s trade union movement. For the first time since 1949, trade union officials are openly stating that the union should represent the workers and no one else, while new legislation in Shenzhen places collective bargaining – previously a no-go area – at the core of the union’s work. Photograph by lille abe@flickr.com

workers_in_suzhou_electronics_factory_by_Photograffiti_Shanghai.jpg

The Growth and Future Development of CSR in China: Bringing Workers into Play

Corporate and Social Responsibility is steadily gaining acceptance in China, but for CSR to effectively protect workers rights it must encourage the active participation of workers in the process. Photo by Photograffiti Shanghai

Laid-off mill workers given just 235 yuan a month to live on

Around 3,000 workers at the Chongqing No. 1 Cotton Mill were forcibly laid off between 2000 and 2003 with a living allowance of just a 235 yuan a month. Despite soaring food prices in Chongqing, the local government has refused to raise the allowance.

The Price of Coal in China

CLB publishes a report on China's coal mining industry focusing on the industry’s appalling safety record, collusion between mine owners and local government officials, and the government’s system of post-disaster management, which is systematically eroding the rights of the bereaved. Photograph by Andi808

CLB's Labour Rights Litigation Programme

Litigation is one of the few avenues open to ordinary Chinese workers seeking redress for violations of their labour rights. CLB is committed to helping workers bring law suits against employers and government agencies across the entire spectrum of labour issues from non-payment of wages and benefits to discrimination and workplace injuries.

Responding to Hepatitis B discrimination in the workplace

More than 120 million Chinese, about ten per cent of the population, carry the Hepatitis B virus. They suffer from widespread and often insitutionalized discrimination. CLB is currently helping bring nearly 20 anti-discrimination law suits in the mainland. Photograph by Nako

Wal-Mart to sign collective contracts at all China stores

Global retail giant Wal-Mart plans to sign collective labour contracts at all of its more than one hundred outlets in China by the end of September, according to the official Chinese media. Photo by h.dot@flickr.com