A report on the coal mining industry in China, which focuses on the industry’s appalling safety record, the collusion between mine owners and local government officials, as well as the government’s system of post-disaster management, which is systematically eroding the rights of the bereaved.

Following on from CLB's initial workers' movement report, this survey provides a comprehensive overview and analysis of the major events and developments in labour relations from 2005 to 2006. The report discusses the government's legislative and economic policies, the response of China's workers to those policies and the role of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions.

An introduction to and overview of China's collective contract system that provides a detailed account of the legal framework and practical implementation of the system so far, and advocates the use of collective bargaining and collective contracts as a means of promoting and protecting workers' rights, as well as improving relations between labour and management.

(Published November 2007)

Child labour is a widespread, systemic and increasingly serious problem in China.  This report explores both the demand for child labour in China and the supply of child labour stemming from serious failings in the rural school system. In 2005, CLB's researchers talked to government labour officials, school teachers and administrators, factory owners, child workers and their parents to build up a picture of the living and working conditions of child labourers and explore the reasons why these children drop out of school early and go into work.

(Published September 2007)

Migrant women workers in Dongguan and other key cities of the Pearl River Delta have consistently been denied their fair share of the rewards of China's rapid economic growth over the past decade and more – indeed, they are increasingly falling below the ILO-defined minimum standard for socially acceptable work. In this survey report, Chinese women workers tell us in their own words about their arduous experiences of trying to earn a decent living in the boomtowns of the Chinese economic miracle today.

(Published September 2006)

The main focus of this report is on the labour rights litigation work undertaken by CLB during 2004-05 to assist jewellery workers who had contracted chronic silicosis to win fair and appropriate compensation from their employers. The report highlights the severe health cost to Chinese workers of the country's current model of economic development and reveals the daunting procedural obstacles that occupational illness victims must surmount in order to secure compensation.

(Published December 2005)

One of the first English language overviews of the newly emerging field of public interest litigation (PIL) in China. The study examines the social, economic and legal background to PIL's development, shows its relevance to labour rights in China, introduces a range of illustrative cases, and discusses the current obstacles to PIL and its prospects for the future.

(Published October 2007)

A report on the numerous problems in China’s labyrinthine and often bewildering labour arbitration and court system that confront workers seeking redress for violations of their rights, particularly work-related illness and injury, and suggests ways in which these issues can be resolved

Operating Outside the Law: The Labour Contract Law and the role the Trade Unions

No Legal Recourse: Why collective labour protests lead to conflict with the law.

Help or Hindrance: An analysis of public protection procedures in three occupational injury cases.

Breaking the Impasse: Promoting Worker Involvement in the Collective Bargaining and Contracts Process.

Speaking Out: The Workers Movement in China, 2005-2006

Putting People First: A Critique of China’s Compensation System for Bereaved Coalminers’ Families

Small Hands: Survey Report on Child Labour in China 

Bloody Coal: An Appraisal of China's Coalmine Safety Management System

Deadly Dust: The Silicosis Epidemic in the Guangdong Jewellery Processing Industry

Standing Up: The Workers Movement in China, 2000-2004

English Executive summary

Falling Through the Floor: Migrant Women Workers’ Quest for Decent Work in Dongguan, China

Occupational Health and Safety in China – Labour Rights Lose Out to Government and Business.

Conflicts of Interest and the Ineffectiveness of China’s Labour Laws

English Executive Summary