the discontent among workers where unions have not been established, whether the reason is management or government refusal, nor the large migrant workforce population.legitimacy and strong linkages with management and government, and as a result ambiguous union activity, are harmful in establishing any trust among its members. Considering in 2006 22.4% (Chinese Labor Statistics, 2006) of the workforce were unionized and assuming that only a fraction of these see any benefits of unionization, a staggering proportion of the labor force is not effectively represented. One can only estimate the proportion of discontent workers which have no effective way of having their interests protected as the power balance in the employer-employee relations is completely off-balance. Officially labor disputes have been on the rise and wild strikes as well as unrest are not uncommon events in China. In order to make their voices heard the desire to form independent trade unions truly representing their interest in face of weak government protection is only natural.immediate suppression, attempts to establish autonomous trade unions have occurred in the past including the Beijing Workers Autonomous Federation, migrant workers of Guangdong 1995 and 2002, the Beijing taxi drivers in 1998, and the Free Labor Union of China (see Howell, 1997 and 2003). The existence and actual work of independent unions is negligible as authorities are quick to step in. Autonomous union involvement during the Tiananmen Square events of 1989 have contributed to creating a nearly impossible environment for setting up independent unions in the near future, but as Howell (2003) says: such attempts are a constant reminder to the ACFTU at both the national and local level that its claim to represent is questionable and its power to defend the interest of workers (is) weak. Ironically, at times the government gave in to demands, sometimes enforced by illegal strikes, organized by autonomous unions or labor activists only to then imprison the responsible people (Heilmann, 2004). These attempts underline the current frustration of many workers and reservations against the ACFTU. In their usually short-lived formations independent trade unions can only play one role: remind the Chinese leadership, that for the majority of the workforce the current role of ACFTU affiliated trade unions is insufficient and the government should attempt to improve and enforce its duties as outlined in the legislation.
4.5 NGO and Foreign Influences on Labor Relations
enterprises have entered China in large numbers since the beginning of the 1980s and have in many cases shifted labor intensive production from countries with higher pay and stricter labor legislation. China s enormous workforce and limited regulations provide favorable conditions f...
