ABSTRACT
Western labour scholars have underlined a significant role of class organisation in the formation of class-consciousness and class solidarity (Hobsbawm, 1984; Katznelson and Zolberg, 1986; Clarke et al., 1995). In China, as we saw in previous chapters, the question of workplace trade unionism has always been a central concern during major workers’ strikes. In Chapter 2, we saw that a ‘temporary trade union’ was formed during the strike by Yong Feng workers in 1994 but declared ‘illegal’; and workers more ambiguously listed the establishment of a trade union as a key demand in the Uniden strike in 2004. Like their counterparts in Uniden, some skilled workers in the Sun factory recognised the significance of a trade union (see Chapter 4). However, in both factories, the trade union established after the strike remained management-controlled. Worker activists took part in the union election in Uniden and won, but they could not resist the pressure from the management and soon resigned. Strikers in the Moon factory asked for rank-and-file representatives to be included in the existing union committee in an effort to reform the trade union (see Chapter 5). However, their demand was not properly addressed by the management. Management manipulation of the workplace trade union has remained a key barrier to the implementation of collective consultation and has given rise to wildcat strikes as a more effective channel to improve workers’ wages and conditions (Clarke et al., 2004; Clarke and Pringle, 2007), as we have seen in previous chapters. This turmoil in workplace relations has forced the ACFTU to launch unionisation campaigns in foreign-and privately owned enterprises since 2006.
