China Labour Bulletin

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China Labour Bulletin (CLB) is a non-governmental organization (NGO) that promotes and defends workers’ rights in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). It is based in Hong Kong and was founded in 1994 by labor activist Han Dongfang.

CLB’s aims, as stated on its website, are to support the development of democratic trade unions in China, the enforcement of the PRC’s labour laws, and the full participation of workers in the creation of civil society. In addition, CLB seeks the official recognition in China of international standards and conventions providing for workers’ freedom of association and the right to free collective bargaining.

In 2002 CLB established a labor rights litigation program designed to give workers the chance to seek redress for their grievances through the PRC’s court system. The organization provides legal advice for workers and arranges for mainland Chinese lawyers to handle their cases. By October 2007, it had taken on about 140 cases involving such issues as non-payment of wages, industrial injury, and redundancy (unemployment) payments. It also addresses the problem of employment discrimination, in particular, raising awareness of and combating discrimination against the estimated 120 million Hepatitis B positive Chinese.

In 2005, CLB set up a program to promote collective bargaining and the use of factory-wide, legally enforceable collective labor contracts as a means of empowering workers, protecting their legal rights, and enhancing industrial relations.

CLB has published five English language and ten Chinese language research reports on a range of issues including the workers’ movement in China, migrant workers, child labor, coal mining accidents, and the silicosis epidemic among China’s gemstone workers.