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Regular and Agency Workers: Attitudes and Resistance in Chinese Auto Joint Ventures

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 January 2018

Yiu Por (Vincent) Chen Open the ORCID record for Yiu Por (Vincent) Chen [Opens in a new window]  and
Anita Chan
Yiu Por (Vincent) Chen*
Affiliation:
School of Global Policy and Strategy, University of California, San Diego.
Anita Chan
Affiliation:
Australian National University.
*
Email: [email protected] (corresponding author).
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Abstract

This paper focuses on agency workers in China's auto industry. Some scholars foresee that this new category of workers, particularly in the auto industry, will play a leading role in global labour resistance. In this context, we conducted a questionnaire survey of 483 regular and agency workers at five major auto joint ventures in China and compared their work conditions, job satisfaction and willingness to take collective actions. Based on these findings, we argue that these companies have good reasons to keep the gap in wages and in work conditions small. This, along with management practices inherited from the Maoist system, can mitigate workers' dissatisfaction and reduce their tendency to take militant actions.

摘要

本论文重点研究中国汽车工业的劳务派遣工。一些学者预计，这一类新兴工人将会在全球，特别是汽车工业的劳动争议中发挥主导作用。在此背景下，我们对中国五家大型汽车合资企业的 483 名工人进行了问卷调查，并比较了正式工人和劳务派遣工人的工作条件，工作满意度以及采取集体行动的倾向。在此基础上，我们认为有这些企业将这两类工人的工资和工作条件尽量缩少是有其原因的。加上从毛泽东思想继承下来的管理方法，其结果是可以减轻工人的不满和采取激进的集体行动的倾向。

Keywords

Chinaagency workersprecarious labourauto industryjoint ventures中国劳动派遣工人权利没有保障的工人汽车工业合资企业
Type
Articles
Information
The China Quarterly , Volume 233 , March 2018 , pp. 85 - 110
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Copyright
Copyright © SOAS University of London 2018 

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