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A Study on the Reform of Grass-Root Trade Unions and the Promotion of Collective Bargaining in China

Received: 26 September 2018     Accepted: 12 October 2018     Published: 6 November 2018
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Abstract

In China, the actual union cadre appointment system formed during the planned economy period and the content of the work of the trade unions centered on welfare and entertainment must be changed, and the trade union cadres who have become lazy and silly under the planned economy system must be retrained or adjusted. And there shall be an incentive and restraint mechanism to make them work hard. At present, the most important measure to safeguard workers' rights and interests in China is to activate grass-root trade unions through reform; activating grass-root trade unions is also a prerequisite for promoting collective bargaining. The reform of grass-root trade unions is not only inevitable and necessary, but also feasible; the main measures for grass-root trade union reform are direct election of grass-root trade unions and representative litigation of trade unions on behalf of individual workers. The promotion of collective bargaining cannot be separated from the grass-root trade union reform, and the way of collective bargaining itself is also very important. Resulted from local conditions, Guangdong Model and Zhejiang Model are good examples in collective bargaining. Guangdong Model is a strike-leading model, where industrial disputes begin with a strike, and the employer advocated collective bargaining follows as a result of the strike; Zhejiang Model is a group job-hopping leading model, where the industrial disputes begin with group job-hopping or group sabotage, and the sectoral trade union advocated collective bargaining follows as a result of joint-pricing of employers. All localities ought to choose the right way according to local conditions.

Published in Journal of Human Resource Management (Volume 6, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.jhrm.20180603.13
Page(s) 103-110
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2018. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Grass-Root Trade Union, Direct Election, Representative Litigation, Collective Bargaining

References
[1] SHEN Xinwang, et al. Direct Election of Trade Unions inside Companies: Empower Workers. Procuratorial Daily, August 20, 2012, YANG Jie. Analysis on Direct Election of Trade Unions. Commerce, No. 24, 2014.
[2] FU Jianfeng. Direct Election: A Reform Driven by Foreign Companies. Southern Metropolis Daily, June 25, 2003).
[3] All-China Federation of Trade Unions. Opinions on Several Issues Concerning Advancing the Reform and Construction of Trade Unions (Trial) (GongFa (1997) No. 26).
[4] DENG Yuwen. Building a Harmonious Society Requires the Use of the Power of Trade Unions. Study Times, December 13, 2004.
[5] Article 46 of the Trade Unions Law stipulates, “The property, funds, and the real estate allocated to the trade union by the State shall not be invaded, misappropriated, or arbitrarily allocated by any organization or individual."
[6] Adopted at the 1263rd meeting of the Judicial Committee of the Supreme People's Court on January 9, 2003, and implemented on July 9, 2003.
[7] Xu Xiaohong, Chen Leyang. Analysis of the Reality of Direct Election of Union Chairs and the Relevant Regulations - taking a city in the south as an example. Journal of Beijing Trade Union Carder College, No. 4, 2005, Opinions of the General Office of the CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee and the General Office of the People's Government of Zhejiang Province on Further Strengthening the Construction of Grassroots Trade Unions (ZheWeiBanFa〔2013〕No. 5).
[8] Wang Kailei. Guangdong Pilots: Democratic Election of Grass-root Trade Union. Xinhua Daily Telegraph, July 3, 2014.
[9] Zhang Hao, Peng Yufei, Huang Ying. The Grass-root Trade Union is Created through True Democratic Elections. Nanfang Daily, May 25, 2012.
[10] In 2010, Shanghai Municipal Federation of Trade Unions issued "Trade Union's Opinions on Further Promoting the Direct Election of Grassroot Trade Union Chairpersons" (HuGongZongZu [2010] No. 89).
[11] In 2014, Liaoning Provincial Federation of Trade Unions issued the "Interim Measures for the Direct Election of Trade Union Chairpersons at the Grassroots Level in Liaoning Province" (LiaoGongFa [2014] No. 25).
[12] Li Gangyin. Socialization of Rights Safeguarding: the Practice to Establish a New Mechanism for Defending Labor Rights by the Federation of Trade Unions of Yiwu City, Zhejiang Province. Workers Daily, January 19, 2005.
[13] Liu Cheng. Research on the Representative Litigation Right of Trade Unions. Journal of Haihe University, No. 2, 2010.
[14] Zhang Jianping and Qi Zhongxi. Direct Election of Grass-root Trade Union Chairpersons: Selecting Close Friends of Employees. September 25, 2003. http://www.people.com.cn/GB/shizheng/1026/2109507.html,September 13, 2018.
[15] Zhang Hao, Peng Yufei, Huang Ying. The Election of a Trade Union through True Democracy. Nanfang Daily, May 25, 2012.
[16] Liu Cheng. Legislation on Trade Unions’ Representative Rights in Developed Countries and Its Revelation. Academia, No. 5, 2006.
[17] Liu Cheng. Collective Bargaining and Trade Unions’ Representation. Social Science Front, No. 4, 2012.
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  • APA Style

    Cheng Liu. (2018). A Study on the Reform of Grass-Root Trade Unions and the Promotion of Collective Bargaining in China. Journal of Human Resource Management, 6(3), 103-110. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jhrm.20180603.13

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    ACS Style

    Cheng Liu. A Study on the Reform of Grass-Root Trade Unions and the Promotion of Collective Bargaining in China. J. Hum. Resour. Manag. 2018, 6(3), 103-110. doi: 10.11648/j.jhrm.20180603.13

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    AMA Style

    Cheng Liu. A Study on the Reform of Grass-Root Trade Unions and the Promotion of Collective Bargaining in China. J Hum Resour Manag. 2018;6(3):103-110. doi: 10.11648/j.jhrm.20180603.13

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  • @article{10.11648/j.jhrm.20180603.13,
      author = {Cheng Liu},
      title = {A Study on the Reform of Grass-Root Trade Unions and the Promotion of Collective Bargaining in China},
      journal = {Journal of Human Resource Management},
      volume = {6},
      number = {3},
      pages = {103-110},
      doi = {10.11648/j.jhrm.20180603.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jhrm.20180603.13},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.jhrm.20180603.13},
      abstract = {In China, the actual union cadre appointment system formed during the planned economy period and the content of the work of the trade unions centered on welfare and entertainment must be changed, and the trade union cadres who have become lazy and silly under the planned economy system must be retrained or adjusted. And there shall be an incentive and restraint mechanism to make them work hard. At present, the most important measure to safeguard workers' rights and interests in China is to activate grass-root trade unions through reform; activating grass-root trade unions is also a prerequisite for promoting collective bargaining. The reform of grass-root trade unions is not only inevitable and necessary, but also feasible; the main measures for grass-root trade union reform are direct election of grass-root trade unions and representative litigation of trade unions on behalf of individual workers. The promotion of collective bargaining cannot be separated from the grass-root trade union reform, and the way of collective bargaining itself is also very important. Resulted from local conditions, Guangdong Model and Zhejiang Model are good examples in collective bargaining. Guangdong Model is a strike-leading model, where industrial disputes begin with a strike, and the employer advocated collective bargaining follows as a result of the strike; Zhejiang Model is a group job-hopping leading model, where the industrial disputes begin with group job-hopping or group sabotage, and the sectoral trade union advocated collective bargaining follows as a result of joint-pricing of employers. All localities ought to choose the right way according to local conditions.},
     year = {2018}
    }
    

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    AB  - In China, the actual union cadre appointment system formed during the planned economy period and the content of the work of the trade unions centered on welfare and entertainment must be changed, and the trade union cadres who have become lazy and silly under the planned economy system must be retrained or adjusted. And there shall be an incentive and restraint mechanism to make them work hard. At present, the most important measure to safeguard workers' rights and interests in China is to activate grass-root trade unions through reform; activating grass-root trade unions is also a prerequisite for promoting collective bargaining. The reform of grass-root trade unions is not only inevitable and necessary, but also feasible; the main measures for grass-root trade union reform are direct election of grass-root trade unions and representative litigation of trade unions on behalf of individual workers. The promotion of collective bargaining cannot be separated from the grass-root trade union reform, and the way of collective bargaining itself is also very important. Resulted from local conditions, Guangdong Model and Zhejiang Model are good examples in collective bargaining. Guangdong Model is a strike-leading model, where industrial disputes begin with a strike, and the employer advocated collective bargaining follows as a result of the strike; Zhejiang Model is a group job-hopping leading model, where the industrial disputes begin with group job-hopping or group sabotage, and the sectoral trade union advocated collective bargaining follows as a result of joint-pricing of employers. All localities ought to choose the right way according to local conditions.
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Author Information
  • School of Law and Political Science, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, China

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