The servicing model and changing pattern of trade union reform: a historical review of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions

The All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) has been under strong pressure to reform itself, struggling with its dual roles of representing both the party-state and the working class. For example, as part of the project to build a “harmonious society” during the Hu-Wen regime, the AFCTU had initiated pilot programmes to implement direct trade union election and party-state-led wage bargaining on a workplace level. However, since Xi came to power in 2012, trade union election and wage bargaining are no longer a priority for the ACFTU. Instead, a servicing model has been promoted with local trade unions or the party-state run community-based centres to service workers. This article reviews the dilemma of trade union reform since 1949 and demonstrated the servicing model that demonstrates that has emerged since 2013 with case studies in the cities of Foshan, Shenzhen and Guangzhou, in Guangdong province. The data are based on a literature review and authors’ first-hand investigations from 2016 to 2021, including more than 50 interviews with trade unionists and both factory and platform workers in the three cities.