[lang=en]China Labour Net[/lang][lang=zh-hans]劳工世界[/lang][lang=zh-hant]勞工世界[/lang] - Special Report

Exploring the Plight of Dispatch Workers in China and How to Improve the Situation – a Preliminary Study

wkf — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 13:55:12 +0000

China Labor Support Network (CLSN) 2014.4

The establishment of the Beijing Foreign Enterprises Human Resources Co., Ltd. (FESCO) in November 1979, led to the beginning of the provision of dispatch labour to foreign companies based in Beijing. The early dispatch labour system was primarily used to meet the staffing needs of foreign companies based in China and for Chinese staff posted to other countries. Since the 1990s, the dispatch labour system has also been used in domestic enterprises, and its use has been growing rapidly. However the absence of laws on dispatch labour meant that for a long time those involved could not refer to the laws when they needed to. Although the dispatch labour method of employment has gradually become more popular, dispatch workers, are in many respects, still in a very disadvantaged position.

As China’s economy has gradually been developing into a market economy, dispatch labour, as an alternative form of employment, has been favoured by employers for its convenience. It is generally considered that employing dispatch labour involves low labour costs, flexible labour and is low risk. This means that the dispatch labour system is widely used in many industries and especially in labour intensive industries.

CLSN has done a preliminary study on both regular and dispatch labour and, basing on this study, this report looks at how both categories of labour see themselves and how the current laws affect dispatch labour’s working conditions and their welfare.

The Chinese full report is released while the English version will be released later.

General Motors (GM) is attacking European Workers. Is There No Resistance? The Example of Opel Bochum

wkf — Wed, 02 Apr 2014 10:56:52 +0000

by Wolfgang Schaumberg

Since 2001, GM -- active throughout Europe under the brand-name “Opel” -- has reduced its number of employees in Europe to 40,000. That’s 8,000 less than in the year 2008. GM now has 55,000 employees in China. After two factories were already closed in Portugal and Belgium, GM announced last year that it would end production in one of its four German factories, in Bochum, at the end of 2014 and sell the production area, which is as large as about 200 soccer fields. For decades, Opel Bochum was GM’s largest production facility, and in 1992 still had 19,200 employees. Step by step, the labor force was reduced to 3,500, but always in the face of tough resistance struggles like in no other facility. Even internationally, the labor force at Opel attracted attention through its independent so-called “wildcat strike” in the year 2000 (3 days) and in particular in 2004 (6 days). (See https://vimeo.com/44512168, a film with English subtitles about the Ooel Bochum strike of 2004).

The Draft Bill on Dispatch Labor in Taiwan Protects Employers rather than Employees

wkf — Tue, 04 Mar 2014 06:06:58 +0000

A report by Labor Vision Taiwan.

In February the Ministry of Labor Affairs in Taiwan approved a draft bill that aims to govern the use of temporary contract workers. The draft calls for a cap on the number of such workers at 3 percent of the total workforce of a company or organization in order to maintain job security for full-time workers. It also asks employers to make dispatch workers regular employees if their assignments last at least one year.

Restructuring of the Honda Auto Parts Union in Guongdong, China: A 2-year Assessment of the 2010 Strike

LabourWorld — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 07:01:57 +0000

An investigation of dispatch Labour system in China

LabourWorld — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 04:05:30 +0000

An investigation of dispatch Labour system in China

From “Master” to “Menial”: State-owned enterprise workers in contemporary China

LabourWorld — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 07:13:40 +0000

A Survey on the Impact of the 2008-9 Economic Crisis on Workers in the Pearl River Delta

LabourWorld — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 09:17:04 +0000