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Can party-led trade unions represent their members?

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  • Simon Clarke
  • Tim Pringle

Abstract

This article examines the implications of party leadership for the ability of trade unions to represent the interests of their members by comparing the cases of China and Vietnam, where the trade unions are under the leadership of the Communist Party, with that of Russia, where the trade unions have been politically independent for almost two decades. The article examines the changing role of trade unions in the transition from a command to a capitalist economy and the pressures for trade union reform from above and below. The key finding is that the form and extent of independent worker activism, and the response of the state to such activism, are a much more significant determinant of trade union development than is the legal and institutional framework of industrial relations, while the main barriers to trade union reform are the inertia of the trade union apparatus and the dependence of primary union organisations on management.

Suggested Citation

  • Simon Clarke & Tim Pringle, 2009. "Can party-led trade unions represent their members?," Post-Communist Economies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(1), pages 85-101.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:pocoec:v:21:y:2009:i:1:p:85-101
    DOI: 10.1080/14631370802663679
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Simon Clarke & Peter Fairbrother & Vadim Borisov, 1995. "The Workers’ Movement in Russia," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 716.
    2. Simon Clarke, 2006. "The Changing Character of Strikes in Vietnam," Post-Communist Economies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(3), pages 345-361.
    3. Simon Clarke & Chang‐Hee Lee & Qi Li, 2004. "Collective Consultation and Industrial Relations in China," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 42(2), pages 235-254, June.
    4. Gordon White, 1996. "Chinese Trade Unions in the Transition from Socialism: Towards Corporatism or Civil Society?," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 34(3), pages 433-457, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Lu Zhang & Tao Yang, 2022. "Worker Activism and Enterprise Union Reform in China: A Case Study of Grassroots Union Agency in the Auto Parts Industry," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 53(2), pages 396-423, March.
    2. Eli D. Friedman, 2014. "Economic Development and Sectoral Unions in China," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 67(2), pages 481-503, April.
    3. Yang Yao & Ninghua Zhong, 2013. "Unions and Workers' Welfare in Chinese Firms," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 31(3), pages 633-667.
    4. Vinod Mishra & Russell Smyth, 2012. "Work Hours in Chinese Enterprises: Evidence From Matched Employer-Employee Data," Monash Economics Working Papers 10-12, Monash University, Department of Economics.
    5. Manfred Elfstrom & Sarosh Kuruvilla, 2014. "The Changing Nature of Labor Unrest in China," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 67(2), pages 453-480, April.
    6. Muriel Périsse & Clément Séhier, 2019. "Analysing wages and labour institutions in China: An unfinished transition," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 30(3), pages 400-421, September.
    7. Fang Cooke, 2014. "Chinese industrial relations research: In search of a broader analytical framework and representation," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 31(3), pages 875-898, September.
    8. Chang-Hee Lee & William Brown & Xiaoyi Wen, 2016. "What Sort of Collective Bargaining Is Emerging in China?," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 54(1), pages 214-236, March.
    9. Diep Thi Ngoc Nguyen & Stephen T. T. Teo & Marcus Ho, 2018. "Development of human resource management in Vietnam: A semantic analysis," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 35(1), pages 241-284, March.
    10. Elfstrom, Manfred & Kuruvilla, Sarosh, 2014. "The changing nature of labor unrest in China," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 65141, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    11. Dong Hoang, 2019. "Labour Standards in the Global Supply Chain: Workers’ Agency and Reciprocal Exchange Perspective," Societies, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-25, May.

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