Roger Blanpain

Ulla Liukkunen

Yifeng Chen

Virginia Brás Gomes

Although China is not new to labour law - it was among the founders of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in 1919 - labour conditions in China today are the subject of concern to observers both inside China and in the international community. In response, China has devoted much attention recently to reforming its labour law system, a process driven by a political reorientation towards labour protection in the context of economic globalization. However, labour disputes and labour unrest continue to proliferate. Using as its starting point an international research seminar held at Helsinki University in January 2013, this volume gathers a remarkable array of academic perspectives on China and its legal system by scholars from China, the United States, and Europe into a stimulating and unique combination of commentary and analysis of the challenges relating to implementation of fundamental labour rights as spelled out in the landmark 1998 ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work in the Chinese setting. Importantly, the analysis fully takes into account action in relation to the promotion of labour rights by not only the Chinese government but local governmental authorities, trade unions, enterprises, and other actors. Each author focuses on a different aspect of how these fundamental labour rights operate in the Chinese legal environment and the kinds of obstacles met in their protection. Among the issues that arise are the following: gaps between ILO conventions and Chinese national laws occurring in the transformation of international obligations into domestic laws; how parties to a labour dispute cases may invoke ILO conventions before courts or administrative authorities; market obstacles caused by linking trade with observance of labour standards; the trade union rights framework in China; bottom-up pressures from workers' collective action; conflicts between Chinese state-owned enterprises and their employees; complications in informal employment labour relations; the growing divide between statute law and legal practice; implementation of the anti-discrimination law; discrimination due to China's household registration system; and corporate social responsibility. Many of the challenges relating to implementation of fundamental labour rights discussed in this volume can be considered common to many countries. The book offers new research questions and a wider scope of analysis, and also provides new tools for discussion regarding the promotion of fundamental labour rights.

China and ILO Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work

This volume gathers together chapters that address the theme of implementing fundamental labour rights in China. It explores the legal framework as well as key institutions and other actors along with the socio-economic context involved in interpretation, implementation, enforcement and overall promotion of fundamental labour rights in China. As a collection of chapters, it assembles comparative and mutually complementary perspectives and insights by distinguished scholars from China, Europe and the United States. With its broad perspective on implementation, the book discusses the most topical challenges to realizing fundamental labour rights in China. China was among the founding members of the ILO. With the regulatory approach of the ILO, fundamental labour rights have gained a new foothold as a key pillar in managing the social dimension of globalization. The development of fundamental labour rights protection in China can be viewed as part of a larger development within China’s domestic economic and social transition as well as its integration into the global economic system. While China has ratified four of the eight ILO core conventions, the challenge of effective implementation and enforcement in the domestic context remains. With its in-depth research on fundamental labour rights in the particular cultural context of the Chinese experience, this book studies Chinese labour law from multiple perspectives, at the same time examining the wider role of international labour standards in developing Chinese law and society. This volume is a remarkable enlargement of existing scholarship on international labour standards, on the one hand, and fundamental labour rights in China on the other. These chapters thoroughly analyse the legal and institutional framework for implementing labour law in China. Among the topics covered are fundamental labour rights including freedom from forced labour, prohibition of use of child labour and non-discrimination. In addition, this volume benefits from socio-historical observations on the cultural logics that inform implementation of fundamental labour rights in China in which the history and current development of Chinese labour law are equally reflected with substantive depth.

Yifeng Chen

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