Labor Rights

In China today many workers are the victims of labor rights violations. Many of them are "migrant workers" from the countryside who work in appaling conditions in the booming areas in South China. China has recorded some of its worst industrial accidents in recent years. There have thus been much reporting of late of work related accidents and deaths in the Chinese media, for example in coal mines. In China there exists only one officially approved labour union, the All China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU), whereas attempts to independently organize labour unions have been met with harsh repression. When China ratified the ICESCR in February 2001, it entered a reservation on Article 8, the right to freely form trade unions. Xinhua news agency reported that the right to form or join trade unions of one's choice would be subject to existing Chinese labour laws. Some good resources include:

• An article by Anita Chan in Human Rights Quarterly 1998, "Labor Standards and Human Rights: The Case of Chinese Workers Under Market Socialism." See also her book, listed in our bibliography, and the book by Michael Santoro, also listed there.
• China's Labor Act of 1994.
• The All China Federation of Trade Unions web site.
• An overview of the labor situation in China from the ILO's August, 2001 regional meeting.

There is an increasing amount of information about labor rights in China on the web. Some examples:

• China Labour Bulletin monitors the situation of workers in China and has a useful website with news and reports. Another organization with a lot of information is China Labor Watch, founded by Li Qiang.
• Here is a Human Rights Watch news release on worker activists.
• An article on "China and the ILO: Formalistic cooperation masks rejection of key labor rights" in Human Rights in China's China Rights Forum, 2001.
• This page from Sweatshop Watch offers a cohesive overview of Labor and the Garment Industry in China.
• A report from Human Rights Watch on labor rights and protests in China.
• This Amnesty International report on Human Rights Defenders in China addresses worker's rights.
• A project on "Rights and Interests in Employment -- with reference to International Human Rights Standards" at the Norwegian Institute of Human Rights.