China Labour Bulletin

{{Infobox organization

| native_name = 中国劳工通讯

| native_name_lang = zh

| abbreviation = CLB

| nickname =

| image = China Labour Bulletin logo.svg

| formation = {{start date and age|1994}}

| founder = Han Dongfang

| founding_location = Hong Kong

| dissolved = {{end date and age|2025|06|12}}

| type = non-profit NGO

| tax_id =

| registration_id =

| status = HK limited company

| purpose = worker's rights; documentation of incidents

| professional_title =

| headquarters = Hong Kong

| language = Chinese (Mandarin, Simplified); English

| subsidiaries = FCLB [US 501(c)(3)]

| website = {{URL|https://clb.org.hk/}}

}}

China Labour Bulletin (CLB) was a non-governmental organization that promotes and defends workers' rights in the People's Republic of China. It was based in Hong Kong and was founded in 1994 by labour activist Han Dongfang.[https://foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/02/28/beijings_labor_pains Beijing's Labor Pains] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110324072229/https://foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/02/28/beijings_labor_pains |date=2011-03-24 }}, Foreign Policy, 2010-2-28

Overview

CLB advocated stronger protection for the rights for Chinese workers, and expressed optimism that their conditions will improve through peaceful and legal action.[https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-labour-idUSTRE79A0FJ20111011 China rural migrants young, restless and online: report], Reuters, 2011-10-10

CLB suppored the development of democratic trade unions in China and the enforcement of the PRC's labour laws. In addition, CLB saught the official recognition in China of international standards and conventions providing for workers' freedom of association and the right to free collective bargaining.

In 2002 CLB established a labour rights litigation programme designed to give workers the chance to seek redress for their grievances through the PRC's court system. The organization provides legal advice for workers and arranges for mainland Chinese lawyers to handle their cases. By October 2007, it had taken on about 140 cases involving such issues as non-payment of wages, industrial injury, and redundancy (unemployment) payments. It also addressed the problem of employment discrimination, in particular, raising awareness of and combating discrimination against the estimated 120 million hepatitis B positive Chinese.{{Cite web|title=Congress.gov {{!}} Library of Congress|url=https://www.congress.gov/committee-print/110th-congress/joint-committee-print/38026|access-date=2021-03-13|website=www.congress.gov}}{{Cite web|last=Verde|first=Giacomo|date=2020-08-17|title=Work Culture in China: Strategies & Tips to Manage Employees|url=https://www.hrone.com/work-culture-china/|access-date=2021-03-13|website=HROne|language=en-US}}{{Cite book|last=Genser|first=Jared|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fKCsDwAAQBAJ&q=%22China+Labour+Bulletin%22+%22Hepatitis+B+positive%22|title=The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention: Commentary and Guide to Practice|date=2019-09-26|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-107-03445-7|language=en}}{{Cite book|last1=Colella|first1=Adrienne|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p_pADwAAQBAJ&q=%22China+Labour+Bulletin%22+%22Hepatitis+B+%22|title=The Oxford Handbook of Workplace Discrimination|last2=King|first2=Eden B.|date=2018|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-936364-3|language=en}}

In 2005, CLB set up a programme to promote collective bargaining and the use of factory-wide, legally enforceable collective labour contracts as a means of empowering workers, protecting their legal rights, and enhancing industrial relations.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PSEoAQAAIAAJ|title=China Labour Bulletin|date=1999|publisher=China Labour Bulletin|language=en}}{{Cite book|last1=Bunce|first1=Valerie|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yLTRDwAAQBAJ|title=Citizens and the State in Authoritarian Regimes: Comparing Russia and China|last2=Koesel|first2=Karrie|last3=Weiss|first3=Jessica|date=2020|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-009348-8|language=en}}

CLB has published five English language and ten Chinese language research reports on a range of issues including the workers' movement in China, migrant workers, child labour, coal mining accidents, and the silicosis epidemic among China's gemstone workers.

In March 2021, CLB documented a series of accidents in the context of workplace safety, which was ignored by the local trade union for allegedly complying to the State's "priorities in eliminating rural poverty and instilling political loyalty".{{Cite news|last=Wong|first=Chun Han|date=2021-03-07|title=Xi Jinping's Eager-to-Please Bureaucrats Snarl His China Plans|language=en-US|work=Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/xi-jinpings-eager-to-please-minions-snarl-his-china-plans-11615141195|access-date=2021-03-13|issn=0099-9660}}

According to China Labor Bulletin, there were 138 strikes by food delivery drivers between 2015 and 2022.{{Cite book |last=Zhang |first=Angela Huyue |title=High Wire: How China Regulates Big Tech and Governs Its Economy |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2024 |isbn=9780197682258 |doi=10.1093/oso/9780197682258.001.0001}}{{Rp|page=163}} Ten percent of these strikes involved over 100 participants.{{Rp|page=163}} Nearly all of the food delivery strikes documented by China Labor Bulletin involved Meituan or Ele.me, and the worker's demands primarily related to pay increases or pay arrearages.{{Rp|page=163}}

On 12 June 2025, China Labor Bulletin announced it would dissolve, citing "financial difficulties and debt issues".{{Cite news |date=13 June 2025 |title=Hong Kong Group Tracking China Labor Unrest Abruptly Shuts Down |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-06-13/hong-kong-group-tracking-china-labor-unrest-abruptly-shuts-down |access-date=13 June 2025 |work=Bloomberg News}}