Chan, Chris King-Chi and Pun, Ngai, 1970-. (2009) The making of a new working class? A study of collective actions of migrant workers in South China. China Quarterly, Vol.198 . pp. 287-303. ISSN 0305-7410

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Abstract

In this study, we argue that the specific process of the proletarianization of Chinese migrant workers contributes to the recent rise of labour protests. Most of the collective actions involve workers' conflict with management at the point of production, while simultaneously entailing labour organizing in dormitories and communities. The type of living space, including workers' dormitories and migrant communities, facilitates collective actions organized not only on bases of locality, ethnicity, gender and peer alliance in a single workplace, but also on attempts to nurture workers' solidarity in a broader sense of a labour oppositional force moving beyond exclusive networks and ties, sometimes even involving cross-factory strike tactics. These collective actions are mostly interest-based, accompanied by a strong anti-foreign capital sentiment and a discourse of workers' rights. By providing detailed cases of workers' strikes in 2004 and 2007, we suggest that the making of a new working class is increasingly conscious of and participating in interest-based or class-oriented labour protests.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HT Communities. Classes. Races J Political Science > JV Colonies and colonization. Emigration and immigration. International migration H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor
Divisions:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Sociology
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Working class -- Political activity -- China, Southeast, Social action -- China, Southeast, Migrant labor -- China, Southeast, China, Southeast -- Economic conditions, China, Southeast -- Social conditions
Journal or Publication Title:	China Quarterly
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
ISSN:	0305-7410
Date:	22 June 2009
Volume:	Vol.198
Page Range:	pp. 287-303
Identification Number:	10.1017/S0305741009000319
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Publication Status:	Published
Access rights to Published version:	Restricted or Subscription Access
Funder:	University of Warwick, Hong Kong Polytechnic University (HKPU)
URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/2218

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