Reform for the benefit of workers
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A possible way for China to implement that reform may be to adopt Deng's approach of "crossing a river by feeling the stones", that is, to modify the labor laws and their enforcement on a trial basis in a particular city, region or industry. This "interim experiment" could allow the ACFTU to engage more actively in worker advocacy and collective bargaining, and even initiate strikes as an economic weapon to achieve the goals.
Many see it as a viable means of regulating labor disputes and allowing "managed" competition between employers and workers. For many, allowing the ACFTU to more aggressively represent the interests of workers would show Chinese authorities are concerned about the welfare of its worker-citizens as much as they do about their corporate-citizens. They substitute final control of the processes of dispute resolution to the constraints of legal mechanisms of negotiation, mediation and arbitration. They would place the union in a better position, too, to supervise and maintain the statutory and contractual rights of the workers, adding an additional, non-governmental layer of enforcement of labor laws.
The ACFTU may come to recognize the value of being a viable force for worker rights as opposed to the alternative of being forced into irrelevancy or redundancy. Historically, the ACFTU has maintained "labor discipline" and supervised workers' productivity. But with profit-seeking modern management, the employer has taken over most of this responsibility and the union is on a trajectory of redundancy.
The union is being pushed to the edges of irrelevance and if allowed to continue being part of management, it is transgressing labor laws requiring it to stay more at "arms length" in its relationship with management. Those opposed to reform argue that this would entail dire economic consequences such as increased work stoppages and lost productivity.
Some experts say such issues can be dealt with in many ways, illustrated by practices in foreign countries. Globally, strikes are relatively rare. Workers on strike can be legally replaced to allow employers to continue production, and government procedures usually remain available to restore harmony and prevent social disruption or economic catastrophe.
Existing labor laws can be used in such reform, but high-level political decision-makers must insist on a new political resolve on effective and consistent enforcement processes.
It is said China is moving toward assuming global leadership. So, it is time it began political reform, starting perhaps with the reform of labor laws. It can represent China's newest path to harmony.
The author is a professor of law at University of Hawaii, US.
