Union revitalisation with Chinese characteristics : empirical evidence from professional organiser/leader program

Chinese unions are often viewed as ineffective in representing workers due to their dependence on the authority of the State. Nevertheless, there have been some attempts by regional offices of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) to form grassroots union that are independent of management. These new types of union organisations have distinct parallels with various models of union revitalisation that have been documented in many other countries. Nonetheless, the question of whether these union organisations demonstrate the identified causes, elements and consequences of union revitalisation has not been systematically examined. To fill this gap, the paper aims to draw empirical evidence from the 'professional organiser and leader program' to indicate the union revitalisation causes, elements and consequences in the Chinese context.