Understanding Employee Voice Amid Restructuring: A Case Study of a Chinese State-owned Coal Mining Enterprise

Abstract:Using the case of a state-owned coal mining enterprise located in an agriculture-dominated region of China undergoing rapid industrialisation, this empirical study investigates how employees express their opinions during neoliberal restructuring. The findings show that workers cautiously select their voice channels and strategies in the context of increasing levels of unequal income distribution and managerial power. This article highlights the legacy of socialist ideology and practice, the prevailing cultural values and norms, and the close interpersonal relationships which together shape the localities in which workers develop their voice and strategies for action.