A special report on the plight of one of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged groups in Chinese society, the children of migrant workers, left behind in the countryside and discriminated against in the city.

CLB looks at how the workers’ movement in China developed in 2007 and 2008, how the government responded to it, and why the official trade union was unable or unwilling to play a positive role in it.

Protecting Workers’ Rights or Serving the Party: The way forward for China’s trade unions

The ACFTU has a mandate to protect the rights and interests of China’s workers. However, as this report shows; the organization has become increasingly passive and subservient to its political masters over the last two decades, to the point where it is now unable to satisfy even the most basic demands of migrant workers – decent pay for decent work.

(Published March 2009)

A joint-report with Canada’s Rights and Democracy that reveals how the lives of millions of workers were thrown into turmoil during the wholesale, shock therapy-style privatization of China’s state owned enterprises in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

A report on the coal mining industry in China, which focuses on the industry’s appalling safety record, the collusion between mine owners and local government officials, as well as the government’s system of post-disaster management, which is systematically eroding the rights of the bereaved.

Following on from CLB's initial workers' movement report, this survey provides a comprehensive overview and analysis of the major events and developments in labour relations from 2005 to 2006. It discusses government labour policies, the response of China's workers to those policies and the role of the ACFTU.

An introduction to China's collective contract system that details the legal framework and practical implementation of the system so far, and advocates the use of collective bargaining as a means of promoting and protecting workers' rights, as well as improving relations between labour and management.

(Published November 2007)

Child labour is a widespread, systemic and increasingly serious problem in China.  This report explores both the demand for child labour in China and the supply of child labour stemming from serious failings in the rural school system.

(Published September 2007)

Migrant women workers in Dongguan and other key cities of the Pearl River Delta have consistently been denied their fair share of the rewards of China's rapid economic growth over the past decade. In this survey, Chinese women workers tell us in their own words about their arduous experiences of trying to earn a decent living in China's boomtowns.

(Published September 2006)

The main focus of this report is on the labour rights litigation work undertaken by CLB during 2004-05 to assist jewellery workers who had contracted chronic silicosis to win fair and appropriate compensation from their employers.

(Published December 2005)

The Liaoyang Workers’ Struggle: Portrait of a Movement

A report on the landmark protests that occurred during the privatization of state-owned enterprises in the north-eastern city of Liaoyang in 2002, and the subsequent trial and imprisonment of workers’ leaders Xiao Yunliang and Yao Fuxin.

One of the first English language overviews of the newly emerging field of public interest litigation (PIL) in China. The study examines the social, economic and legal background to PIL's development, shows its relevance to labour rights in China, introduces a range of illustrative cases, and discusses the current obstacles to PIL and its prospects for the future.

(Published October 2007)

A report on the numerous problems in China’s labyrinthine and often bewildering labour arbitration and court system that confront workers seeking redress for violations of their rights, particularly work-related illness and injury, and suggests ways in which these issues can be resolved

"It is harder to get into heaven:" The three obstacles on the road to justice for victims of pneumoconiosis.

中国工人运动观察报告(2007-2008) (2009年3月)

The Workers Movement in China, 2007-2008

谁来维权 为谁维权 --- 论全总维权的政治化及中国工会运动的出路(2008年12月)

Who is the protector, and who the protected:  A discussion of the politicisation of the ACFTUs’ rights protection activities, and ways out of the impasse for the union movement in China.

Operating Outside the Law: The Labour Contract Law and the role the Trade Unions

No Legal Recourse: Why collective labour protests lead to conflict with the law.

Help or Hindrance: An analysis of public protection procedures in three occupational injury cases.

Breaking the Impasse: Promoting Worker Involvement in the Collective Bargaining and Contracts Process.

Speaking Out: The Workers Movement in China, 2005-2006

Putting People First: A Critique of China’s Compensation System for Bereaved Coalminers’ Families

Small Hands: Survey Report on Child Labour in China 

Bloody Coal: An Appraisal of China's Coalmine Safety Management System

Deadly Dust: The Silicosis Epidemic in the Guangdong Jewellery Processing Industry

Standing Up: The Workers Movement in China, 2000-2004

English Executive summary

Falling Through the Floor: Migrant Women Workers’ Quest for Decent Work in Dongguan, China

Occupational Health and Safety in China – Labour Rights Lose Out to Government and Business.

Conflicts of Interest and the Ineffectiveness of China’s Labour Laws

English Executive Summary