We may have reached a crucial turning point in the history of China’s trade union movement. For the first time since 1949, trade union officials are openly stating that the union should represent the workers and no one else, while new legislation in Shenzhen places collective bargaining – previously a no-go area – at the core of the union’s work. Photograph by lille abe@flickr.com

Draft regulations currently before the Shenzhen municipal legislature represent an important development in China’s labour law which could lay the groundwork for improved labour relations and give trade unions the opportunity to effectively represent workers in collective bargaining with management. Photograph. Migrant Workers in Shenzhen by Jervetson@flickr.com

Corporate and Social Responsibility is steadily gaining acceptance in China, but for CSR to effectively protect workers rights it must encourage the active participation of workers in the process. Photo by Photograffiti Shanghai

The nascent workers’ movement in China is helping to drive the county’s legislative development, CLB Director Han Dongfang told a Congressional-Executive Commission on China hearing in Washington DC on 18 June. Photograph by Saad Akhtar

One year after the Shanxi brickyard slave labour scandal, many reportedly freed slaves have not yet returned home, others are forced to beg for a living, officials who failed in their duty of care are still on the job, and the slave traffickers and slave factories are still in business.

To mark the implementation of China’s new Labour Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Law, CLB publishes a new report on the numerous problems that remain in China’s labyrinthine and often bewildering labour arbitration and court system for workers seeking redress for violations of their rights.

CLB publishes a report on China's coal mining industry focusing on the industry’s appalling safety record, collusion between mine owners and local government officials, and the government’s system of post-disaster management, which is systematically eroding the rights of the bereaved. Photograph by Andi808

CLB testifies in Washington that the Chinese government’s determination to ensure nothing tarnishes its Olympic dream has resulted in a crackdown on the emerging civil rights movement, and that serious social justice issues remain to be tackled

Guangdong trade union officials have publicly acknowledged that the most effective way to protect workers' wages is through direct negotiations between labour and management. Will their actions match their words?

CLB director, Han Dongfang, argues that China needs genuine collective bargaining between labour and management to make the promise held out by the new Labour Contract Law a reality.