Comparing the U.S. and Chinese systems of labor relations

Many countries have made significant efforts to guarantee proper working conditions

This includes restrictions on the minimum ages of persons permitted to work in various occupations as well as the nature of the work that they should perform. Additionally, it takes into account issues relating to equity and the capacity to meet the demands of the workers by being able to pay fair salaries. Due to the ability to guarantee the formation of labor unions that fight for workers’ rights, a large number of nations have become involved. On the other hand, there are those that have performed considerably poorly in this sector leading to many inappropriate conditions for the workers. It is for this reason that the labor relations systems in varied countries that include the United States and China are very diverse.

Labor Relations in the United States and China

For a long time, many of the workers in the United States have gone on strike due to disgruntlements in the conditions that are offered at their places of work. These are mainly union strikes that are organized by various groups which include teachers and workers in the retail sectors. However, in comparison China has had more incidents of strikes with its workers. In particular, in China, there have been increased cases of confrontations between the workers and the employees since they have become sharper and more frequent. This is mainly attributed to the fact that unlike in the United States, the number of independent labor unions is almost nonexistent. In essence, in China, it is the government that is in control of the so called national trade union. It is a known fact that the government in China does not allow the unions with full independence from the legal sector to be established from the national trade union. For this reason, strikes are illegal in the country. It is as a result of this that when compared to the United States, although China has a lot of unsatisfied workers, they still record low numbers of strikes. Differences in the labor relations systems in the United States and China in terms of the history, laws and practices (Pierce & Scott, 2016)

The absence of labor unions in China

As indicated by Elfstrom, and Kuruvilla (2014), the labor unions that are absent in China play a very vital role in the protection of the labor rights of the employers. For instance, it was not possible for the mayor to make use of his powers to stop the protests that resulted from the recent teachers strike in Chicago. The only effort that he was able to make was to appeal to the public to put a stop to the protest. However, it was not possible for his to use his force to suppress the strike efforts as the Chinese government could possibly do. In particular, most of the time, the Chinese government has made use of its police force through the issuance of commands to ensure that any forms of strikes do not take place. This makes it sad in China since as opposed to the United States workers cannot air their grievances.

The decline of workers unions in the United States

For a long time in the United States, the workers union have been able to enjoy a lot of responsibilities. It is because of this that the teachers union has a lot of teachers as its members. It is one of the strongest and most powerful unions in the country. However, with the shift of the economic focus from the heavy industries to the services that are significantly mobile, the members of workers in the unions has decreased from 24% in the private sector in 1973 to a 7% figure in 2011. Nonetheless, the unions still have considerable power for the workers in the government. Consequently, it is the same unions that fund the politicians who negotiate deals on wages with the unions in the public sector. This is also the cause for the mess that is experienced in the finances of America’s municipal. It is surprising that Wal-Mart has made attempts to discourage the members of unions for its workers but has an exception in China where it allows its workers to join unions in order to maintain a good relationship with the government (Li & Freeman, 2015).

Conclusion

The ability by a country to allow for the development and establishment of labor unions helps in the provision of the right conditions for their workers. This is because of the fact that the unions provide a high level of cooperation and the ability to listen to the complaints of the workers. Nonetheless, some countries have put a lot of effort to ensure that this happens while some have still remained reluctant on this issue. Therefore, this creates a lot of conflict for the workers in relation to those who are found in countries with established labor unions.

References

Elfstrom, M., & Kuruvilla, S. (2014). The changing nature of labor unrest in China. ILR Review, 67(2), 453-480.

Li, X., & Freeman, R. B. (2015). How does China’s new labour contract law affect floating workers? British Journal of Industrial Relations, 53(4), 711-735.

Pierce, J. R., & Schott, P. K. (2016). The surprisingly swift decline of US manufacturing employment. The American Economic Review, 106(7), 1632-1662.