The resolution of workplace disputes in China: comparing migrant and urban workers Xin Zhang

BACKGROUND A wide social inequality between migrant and urban workers in China An ongoing legal reform of labour contract law, labour dispute procedures which put more emphasize on migrant workers’ benefits There are still huge numbers of “unmet needs” for migrant workers to resolve workplace disputes. An unnoticed question both in studies of migrant workers and civil justice

Goal The research aims to examine the individuals’ perceptions and behaviours of industrial accident disputes compare them between two groups of people, migrant and urban workers bridge the gap between individual’s disputing with the macro legal mechanism for dispute resolution.

RESEARCH QUESTION What shapes these differences in labour dispute resolution between migrant and urban workers in China? Why do these differences exist ? How can these differences be adjusted to promote equality in the legal system?

Existing researches Hypothesis Migrant workers have different disputing propensity comparing to urban workers. Migrant workers have more unresolved disputes and unclaimed rights than urban workers. Policy makers put many efforts on the formal equality before law but ignore the differences in disputing propensity between the two groups of people. It finally produces the inequality. In terms of constructing the legal resolution system, the pursuit of formal legal equality promoted by political agendas left little space for alternative resolution mechanisms driven by original legal cultures among Chinese people. Existing researches analyze the question from a ‘macro’, top-down perspective which focus on the design for the resolution mechanism, fewer concern the individual disputing behaviours. concentrate on the socio-economic resources as factors affecting people’s disputing behaviours. Meanwhile the interactions between people and mechanisms are been neglected. Western socio-legal studies of dispute behaviour :e.g. Genn, Felstiner, Galanter etc.

Post-dispute situation Dispute formation ►Problem→ grievance→ dispute ►‘grievance apathy’ Dispute process ►Access to legal advice and type of advice obtained ►choices of resolution strategies: ►Dispute object Dispute outcome ► Type of resolution: Unresolved Agreement Adjudication ► Cost for the resolution Post-dispute situation ►Evaluation: Is the objective fulfilled? ►the experience and perception of the legal system ►The effect to their future employment relations

Research method A quantitative questionnaire survey of around 100 people who have experienced industrial accident disputes in recent three years. The random sample of questionnaire survey will be selectively consisted with around half migrant workers and half urban workers. The main questions covered the demographic information, the types of the problems they faced, the experiences of those who sought to deal with their problems or disputes through dispute resolution forums, and their evaluations to the outcome. Following a qualitative interview and the sample will be purposely selected with around 20 people to provide in- depth information about behaviour, decision-making and motivation, permitting a more detailed tracing of the processes through which dispute were handled.

Problem Generally: Micro-macro problem Lack of theoretical implication Technically Questionnaire sampling Ethical Issues Difficulties to conceptualize the dispute ( subjective, unstable, reactive, complicated, incomplete)