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Chinese labor begins on the railroads
The Sacramento Union reported on the hiring of 50 Chinese workers for the California Central Railroad. -
Great leap forward
Mao Zedong introduces the "Great leap forward", which was a five year economic plan .Farming was collectivized and labor-intensive industry is introduced. The drive produces economic breakdown and is abandoned after two years. Disruption to agriculture is blamed for the deaths by starvation of millions of people following poor harvests. -
All-China Federation of Trade Unions takes a toll
The All-China Federation of Trade Unions is China's state-sanctioned labor body. It is run like the Communist Party. Membership dropped from 130 million in 1990 to 90 million in 2000. It also has trouble recruiting new members. -
China take another leap forward for labor rights
An international meeting on workers rights and unions organized after much painstakingly work for December 2004 was abruptly cancelled at the last minute -
2006 labor law
In 2006, a proposed labor law---the new Labor Contract Law---intended to address abuses, increase wages, reduce working hours to 40 hours a week and increasing overtime pay---was opposes by foreign corporations doing business in China. China's existing labor law have already caused some foreign companies to leave China for other countries without such laws. -
2008 law
New labor laws implemented in 2008 requires employers to pay overtime, provide insurance and give laid off workers one month of severance pay for every year worked. The laws also make it harder to lay off workers. Credit Suisse estimates these laws add 15 percent to 20 percent to the cost of running a labor-intensive factories. The laws have also encouraged workers to stand up and fight for their rights, which in turn has encourage companies to follow the rules -
Workers fighting for independence
Workers at a Honda parts factory in Zhongshan in 2010 made the formation of an independent union one of their main demands, along with wage increases -
All-China Federations of Trade Unions
Under the current system, only the government-run union, the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, which has more than 170 million members, is permitted. The union only nominally represents workers; in practice, it has close ties with management.
