Our 10 most recent articles.
Workers’ struggles echo around the world as pandemic spreads
On May Day this year, we highlight the struggle of workers in China and around the world to protect their health and livelihood during the coronavirus pandemic
01 May 2020
Women workers on the frontline in the battle against the coronavirus
The majority of medical staff in China’s hospitals are women, and during the coronavirus (covid-19) outbreak, it has been women who have been at the forefront of the battle to contain the epidemic.
05 March 2020
Coronavirus outbreak presents unprecedented challenges to China’s workers
The coronavirus (covid-19) outbreak in China, and the government’s measures to contain it, have presented workers with unprecedented challenges in terms of returning to work, ensuring they will be adequately protected from infection once they do resume work, and safeguarding their rights to remuneration, social insurance and compensation if they are laid off.
03 March 2020
Focus on hospital violence obscures basic problems of pay and working conditions
Workplace safety is a major issue in China’s hospitals but the vast majority of collective protests by medical staff are triggered by wage arrears, the failure of employers to pay social insurance contributions and bonuses, or arbitrary changes in employment status.
30 December 2019
Rural doctors and teachers take action over chronic underfunding
Community doctors and teachers in China’s poor rural counties have been pushed to the limit and are now taking collective action to defend their rights.
24 July 2019
Decent healthcare still a distant dream for most workers in China
More than 95 percent of China’s population are covered by a state medical insurance plan. However, only a small proportion have access to high quality healthcare.
04 July 2019
Medical staff in China’s major urban centres are over-burdened while those in smaller cities are just not being paid
The over-concentration of high-quality medical services in China’s big cities means that hospital staff in major urban centres are stretched to the limit while those in under-utilised small city clinics are struggling to get paid.
02 July 2019
Long hours and endless pressure: China’s nurses are near breaking point
There is an urgent need for hospital trade unions to support their members and ensure all medical workers can earn a decent salary in a safe working environment.
13 June 2018
ACFTU announces big recruitment drive in logistics and service industries
The All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) has launched a massive recruitment drive for workers in China’s fast-growing logistics and service industries.
11 April 2018
Online donation supports jailed labour activist and his family
Two weeks after veteran labour activist Meng Han was sentenced to 21 months in prison, hundreds of people donated over 16,000 yuan (US$ 2,322) in a crowdfunding effort to support him and his over-70-year-old parents who were threatened by thugs and evicted out of their rented apartment in Guangdong province.
23 November 2016