Dockworkers’ Resistance and Union Reform within China’s Globalised Seaport Industry

Abstract

This study examines the prominent 2013 Yantian dock strike in China and analyses the main factors contributing to the dockers’ successful campaign. It finds that the dockers’ capacity to take strike action mainly derives from their bargaining power, including structural power such as workplace bargaining power and logistical power, and their institutional power such as workers’ sense of moral power. More importantly, the event shows that the extent of dockworkers’ resistance, workplace union reform, and employers’ response were shaped by the globalisation of production in China’s seaport industry and the transformation of political economy in East Asia.