ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the trajectory of the trade union movement after President Ma Ying-jeou came to power in 2008 in order to understand the characteristics of the labour resistance in a deteriorating environment. It explores how the autonomous trade union movement grew up during the democratization. The chapter illustrates the institutional design of trade unions left by the authoritarian rule that conditioned the development of the new union movement. It examines the performance of national union federations, which have often played a significant role in labour resistance in the newly democratic countries. The chapter also reviews the recent resurgence of labour militancy and focuses on development of union organizing after the amendment of the Trade Union Law. It also examines the relations between labour unions and politics, in particular the political practice of certain autonomous unions triggered by the drastic political change since the 2014 local election.
