Industrial relations in China are undergoing profound changes.
These changes were set in motion by reforms which ended centralised
control of employment and wage fixing, reintroduced labour markets
and made negotiations on labour contracts and wages extremely
one-sided. Trade unions, which had no responsibility for collective
bargaining under the socialist command economy, are now being
challenged under the new dispensation to act as representatives of
the workers under market conditions, while continuing to be under
the tutelage of the party.