Increasing Risk of Labour Strikes in China
Description:
As the chinese economy continues to grow and as China continues to open up to the outside world, there is an increased chance of labour strikes occuring within the country. The new information and technologies entering the country coupled with the increasing wealth dispersion will combine to increase social anxiety, which could lead to population strikes or even riots.
Enablers:
- Continued Economic Growth: will lead to an increase in the wealth difference between citizens
- Increased interaction with outside world: will lead to new ideas entering the society such as the labour cultures from the west
- Increasing amounts of leisure time: People will have the time to start questioning the regime
- Increased privitization of industry: As more companies fall outside the direct control of the goverment, they are less likely to be as tightly controled by the communist party
Inhibitors:
- Strength of the central government: The government has a strong hold over the country and has a history of forcefully putting down any uprising.
- Increasing working age population: As the number of available workers increase it will be simple to replace un-ruly employeees
Paradigms:
Any move towards unionization could have major effects on China's industry. It could effect large social and health changes throghout the country. Additionally, disruptions to production could cause the economic growth of the country to slow, further causing citizens to question the central governments authority.
Experts:
http://www.mof.gov.cn/index.htm
http://www.mof.gov.cn/english/english.htm
Timing:
Web Resources:
htty://www.commondreams.org
Htty://www.washingtonpost.com
Revision History
- Edited by Geoff Spielman on 15th September 2009