Shenzhen’s new residence card has been heralded in the official Chinese media as an important step towards reform of the household registration (hukou) system and the elimination of discrimination against migrant workers. CLB contends that the new card is little more than a cosmetic exercise that does not significantly improve the lives of migrant workers and only really benefits the police. Photograph by 2dogs @ flickr.com

An open letter from China Labour Bulletin to Jorma Ollila, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Nokia Corporation, concerning Hepatitis B discrimination at a Nokia plant in China. Photograph of Nokia store in Shanghai by PierrickBlons

The Regulations on the Promotion of Harmonious Labour Relations in the Shenzhen SEZ, approved on 23 September 2008, contain some beneficial additions but some important clauses have been removed. Photo of Shenzhen factory workers by Chad Ingraham.

A new report by CLB and Canada’s Rights and Democracy reveals how the lives of millions of workers were thrown into turmoil during the wholesale privatization of China’s state-owned enterprises in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Photo of abandoned SOE in Liaoning by Sonya@flickr.com

A casual glance at the Chinese government’s wage statistics indicates that wages have been increasing rapidly over the last decade. However a mainland blogger has posted a detailed analysis of the statistics that explains the reality behind this rosy picture. Photo: Saffanna@flickr.com

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.