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The Children of Migrant Workers in China

There are 110 million migrant workers in China aged between 16 and 40 years old. They left home in the hope of building a better life for themselves and their family, yet when they start a family of their own, they are faced with a stark choice; either take their children to the cities and subject them to institutionalized discrimination, or leave them behind in the countryside in the uncertain care of relatives. Photo of migrant worker child by sillyrabbit@flickr.com

Shenzhen labour regulations modified with some gains and some losses for workers

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.

Railway workers “retired” on medical grounds fight back

In the late 1990s, China’s state-run railways laid off hundreds of thousands of workers as part of economic rationalization drive. The Shenyang Railway Authority devised a novel scheme whereby workers were retired “on medical grounds” even though many had never taken a day’s sick leave in their lives.

No Way Out: A report on the human cost of China’s economic miracle

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

CLB's Labour Rights Litigation Programme

Litigation is one of the few avenues open to ordinary Chinese workers seeking redress for violations of their labour rights. CLB is committed to helping workers bring law suits against employers and government agencies across the entire spectrum of labour issues from non-payment of wages and benefits to discrimination and workplace injuries.

CLB acts to help Sichuan Miner left alone to Die in Poverty

CLB is helping a retired miner in Sichuan with third-stage pneumoconiosis sue for work-related illness compensation after his boss, a local coal baron and parliamentarian, refused any payment. The trial began on 11 September 2008 at the Qu County People’s Court with the exchange of evidence.

Union chair resigns over the imposition of collective contracts at Wal-Mart

One of the few union activists ever to stand-up to Wal-Mart management has resigned from his position as union chair at Wal-Mart’s Nanchang Bayi store after being by-passed in collective contract negotiations. - Photo by h.dot@flickr.com