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Collective consultation under quota management: China's government‐led model of labour relations regulation
Author(s) -
WU Qingjun,
SUN Zhaoyang
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
international labour review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.433
H-Index - 46
eISSN - 1564-913X
pISSN - 0020-7780
DOI - 10.1111/j.1564-913x.2014.00218.x
Subject(s) - unrest , collective bargaining , government (linguistics) , china , industrial relations , economics , central government , labor relations , labour law , market economy , labour economics , economic system , local government , public administration , political science , law , management , politics , linguistics , philosophy
China's system of labour relations regulation is based on a government‐led model of collective consultation and contracts, driven by the central planning tradition of “quota management”. Government and trade unions thus cooperate to fulfil coverage quotas, especially at the local/enterprise level. Though their methods are highly successful at overcoming employers' reluctance, the absence of genuine collective bargaining leaves collective contracts largely devoid of substance. Under this system, the authors argue, the Government is institutionalizing a labour regulation framework aimed at containing the recent rise in labour unrest, while pragmatically postponing collective bargaining for the sake of stability and growth.