The Paradox of Labor Force Dualism and State-Labor-Capital Relations in the Chinese Automobile Industry
The Paradox of Labor Force Dualism and State-Labor-Capital Relations in the Chinese Automobile Industry
This chapter presents an in-depth case study of China's automobile industry. It argues that growing competition has forced Chinese automakers to establish a leaner and meaner workplace to cut costs and increase staff flexibility. They have done so by replacing permanent and long-term workers with young, urban-bred, formal contract workers under renewable short-term labor contracts. At the same time, more and more automakers have introduced labor force dualism by deploying a large number of temporary workers (hired through labor dispatch agencies) alongside the formal workers on assembly lines but subjecting them to different treatment. The remainder of the chapter offers an in-depth discussion of this process of industrial restructuring, changing workplace, and transformation of production workforce in the automobile industry since the mid-1990s.
Keywords: Chinese automobile industry, industry restructuring, automotive industry workers, labor inequality, labor market
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