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Faltering standardization: Conflict and labour relations in China's taxi and sanitation industries

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  • Hao ZHANG
  • Eli FRIEDMAN

Abstract

The marketization of municipal services in China's cities from the 1990s triggered a wave of strikes beginning in the 2000s that provided an impetus towards standardization and the re‐regulation of employment conditions. On the basis of a study of the sanitation and taxi industries in the cities of Wenzhou and Guangzhou, the authors find that local governments have utilized three strategies in promoting standardization: unionization, public policy implementation and business consolidation. Although outcomes vary across the cases considered, institutionalization remains weak at best and conflicts persist. The article concludes by presenting a schema for comparing the different strategies identified in these cases and those historically institutionalized in the West.

Suggested Citation

  • Hao ZHANG & Eli FRIEDMAN, 2021. "Faltering standardization: Conflict and labour relations in China's taxi and sanitation industries," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 160(3), pages 363-385, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:intlab:v:160:y:2021:i:3:p:363-385
    DOI: 10.1111/ilr.12206
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    References listed on IDEAS

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