Initiative for U.S.-China Dialogue on Global Issues

As top manufacturing countries in the world, both the Chinese and U.S. domestic economies are based on millions of workers. The workers who build the country by their own hands deserve protection of labor rights, but the reality fails to meet expectation. Meanwhile, 97 years after the publication of the “Constitution of the International Labor Organization,” some workers still live under the shadow of discrimination, exploitation and poverty in 21st century. In China, some construction workers who used to be peasants in the countryside have the lowest salaries in the big cities. They work long hours and sacrifice for urbanization but gain nothing because of arrears of wages or unfair contracts. In the United States, it is more difficult for an immigrant worker to find a job than local people. High speed working schedule and pressure from rising competition also cause serious psychological problems among the workers.

Under this situation, both the Chinese and U.S. governments have implemented policies that share same goals of addressing labor dispute and protecting labor rights. The long-term collaboration between China and the United States will improve global labor standards. As a first step, the United States Department of Labor and China's Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in social and labor matters on September 11, 2014. To invest in training workers is one of the key proposals to improve the situation. For example, American and Chinese university students can volunteer with labor group to teach the local workers using the professional knowledge that they learn at the university and help workers to be well-trained and adaptable to the new society. They can be taught how to use legal justice to defend themselves when their rights are exploited. Another way is, by researching in the local neighborhood, young people can write reports and analyses about workers’ working and living condition. And submit the final reports to the local labor bureaus and government which can use them as a guide to help the government check out the functioning of labor policy.

Labor rights are everybody’s rights. Every university student will enjoy his or her labor rights when he or she becomes a worker after graduation. Labor rights are not only the foundation of a family, but also the foundation of a country. Young generations will inherit the wealth of their forefather who devoted themselves to fighting for labor rights, and promote the collaboration between China and the US in labor rights issues.

Yuwen Long is a junior at Shandong University in China with double majors in law and English.