Chinese Trade Unions: Shifting Priority from Corporate Interest to Employee Interest*

Jin Weidong (靳卫东) 1 and Cui Yadong (崔亚东)2
1 School of Economics, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
2 School of Economics, Shandong University of Finance and Economics (SDUFE), Jinan, China

Abstract: With rising labor disputes over recent years, the role of Chinese trade unions has come to the spotlight of public attention. Based on the latest practices of labor relations in China, this paper employs such methods as text analysis, treatment effect model and instrumental variable to theoretically and empirically demonstrate the shifting role of trade unions in China. Our findings suggest that: (1) Trade unions have lived up to their mandate of protecting employee interest, and have significantly improved employee benefits. (2) Trade unions are no longer preoccupied with corporate interest as they did in a previous period and have restored their role as labor organizations. (3) With the shifting priority of the Party and government, administrative affiliation may propel the transition of operational and organizational models of trade unions, and contribute to rather than impede the shift in trade union functions. Thus, the Party and government should enhance leadership over trade union organizations to create harmonious labor relations.

Keywords: trade unions, the role of employee protection, corporate interest, employee interest
JEL Classification Codes: J51, J53, D33
DOI:1 0.19602/j .chinaeconomist.2019.11.05

¥0.01加入购物车