The emerging industrial relations of China

"A profound change is taking place in employment relations in China. The opening up of the economy to both national and international competition is transforming the way in which employers and workers interact. It is also changing the institutions through which they interact and the ways in which the Chinese government is involved. Markets were initially slow to develop after China's post-revolution period as a centrally planned economy and they are still subject to a high level of state regulation. As exposure to market forces has gathered pace, the consequences for workers have often been difficult. The strike wave in the summer of 2010 emphasised the extent to which their response has increasingly been collective rather than individualistic. This has raised industrial relations challenges for China that echo those previously encountered elsewhere in the industrialised world"--