The Nature of Industrial Relations and Its Impacts on Occupational Safety and Health in China

Abstract

There were 37.102 million employees working in various types of firms and organizations in China’s nonrural areas in 2012. Of that number, 71,983 lost their lives in workplace accidents, and more than 100,000 were seriously injured or suffered work-related diseases that limited their ability to work full-time during the year of occurrence (National Bureau of Statistics of China 2013). This paper discusses, both theoretically and empirically, the nature and evolution of industrial relations in mainland China and its impact on occupational safety and health over the past three decades. Market-oriented economic reform, narrowly focused on GDP growth, favors elites in power but often overlooks the interests of rank-and-file workers. Even worse, the safety and health of ordinary workers is jeopardized when they are viewed merely as a means to maximize profits.