Wage levels in China have increased continually over the last two decades as the economy has developed and the private sector has created new employment opportunities. However, disparities among geographic regions, industrial sectors and between top executives and ordinary workers have also increased significantly, widening the rich-poor gap. Photo: Workers in Yan'an demand equal pay for equal work.

In China Labour Bulletin’s third comprehensive report on pneumoconiosis in China, we highlight the efforts of the workers fighting for justice, the growing support they have received from the media and civil society, and the wholly inadequate response thus far of the government. Photograph of pneumoconiosis activist He Bing by CLB.