ACFTU's penetration rate in private enterprises

The number of people registered as trade union members as a proportion of workers nationally in China has always been a mystery. The figures that the All China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) provides are certainly impressive. In some speeches given by high-ranking ACFTU officials, there are references to figures in relative terms, yet there is no way to verify these figures.

In September 2005, the ACFTU released its "Blue Paper on Chinese Trade Union’s Safeguarding of the Legitimate Rights and Interests of Workers and Staff Members (2004)". The paper offers statistics that are presented in overall terms, saying that 1.935 million legal entities have been registered under ACFTU and that 459,000 unions have been established in privately owned enterprises.

On 17 January 2003, the Office of the Leading Group for the Second National Census of Basic Units published the Communiqué on the Main Results of the Second National Census of Basic Units in China. The data covers the period up until the end of 2001 and although the paper was released more than two years ago, it still serves as the most up-to-date official record of basic units in China.

On the assumption that the situation has not undergone any significant changes, the census data suggests that 37.9% of legal entities have registered under ACFTU and 25.5% of private enterprises are unionized (see the graph below).

Union registration & unionization in private enterprises (Unit: 10,000)

Corporate units^{^[1]}

Number

Corporate units' union registration (No. and %)

Private enterprises' unionization (No. and %)

Corporations

302.6

193.5(37.9%)^{^[2]}

State-owned

36.9

Collectively-owned

85.8

Private

132.3

45.9(25.5%)

Shareholding

30.0

With foreign investment

5.7

With investment from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan

8.2

Others

3.7

Administrative and institutional units

102.6

Social organizations

10.6

Residents' committees and villagers' committees

79.2

Other corporate units

15.7

Total

510.7

Source: Office of the Leading Group for the Second National Census of Basic Units: “Communiqué on the Main Results of the Second National Census of Basic Units in China”, 17 January 2003. http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjgb/jbdwpcgb/

Source: ACFTU: Blue Paper on Chinese Trade Unions' Safeguarding of the Legitimate Rights and Interests of Workers and Staff Members (2004), 12 September 2005, http://www.sa8000.org.cn/NewsCenter/1235.html

[1] Corporate Unit: It refers to unit which is legally established, has its own name, corporate structure and working place, independently owns and uses (or authorizes other unit to use) its assets and bear its liabilities, has the right to sign contracts with other units, undertakes independent accounting and is able to compile balance sheet (from "Communique on the Main Results of the Second National Census of Basic Units in China").

[2] Brackets added by CLB

15 November 2005
China Labour Bulletin