Reform for the benefit of workers

Events often trigger reforms. Recent labor strikes in China at Honda and Foxconn may present one of those events that provide an opportunity for reflection on China's labor laws and labor relations. Today the labor front seems quiet, after Foxconn and Honda workers' wages were raised following negotiations with their employers and, in the case of Honda, with government officials.

I participated in a labor law conference in China recently discussing and exploring legal and labor relations issues, particularly those exposed by the recent strikes at Honda and Foxconn. Despite a spate of new labor laws, many of these Chinese academics and officials argued the legal system regulating labor relations wasn't working as it should and they knew why.

Although labor laws are in place, the economy is performing and the employers are profiting, workers are "short-changed" because enforcement of existing laws, union advocacy, and collective negotiations are not reliable or used effectively. Thus, workers have resorted to strikes.