Workers Rights in China

China is the world’s largest exporter of textiles and apparel, and in the coming years, it is expected that the majority of the world’s apparel production will move there. China’s accession to the WTO in 2002 and the impending expiration of export-regulating quota agreements in 2005 has catalyzed this growth. China’s market liberalization, however, has been accompanied by enormous socio-economic problems. Flagrant and persistent abuse of workers’ rights is one of the most serious of these problems.

In China, it is illegal for workers to organize independent unions and to strike, and independent union efforts and protests against unfair conditions are often strongly suppressed. Furthermore, workers’ rights violations - such as forced labor, child labor, excessive overtime, substandard wages, and hazardous working conditions - are commonplace. While Chinese labor law provides strong protections for workers’ rights, these laws are poorly enforced. As unemployment and poverty mount in China, workers will sacrifice more of their rights to keep their jobs, making it ever more crucial that China enforce fair labor standards and protect its workers.