Temporary Workers and Collective-Action Preferences in China

Developed countries are becoming concerned with an increase in temporary workers, as it has undermined both their job security and the effects of collective action. China has experienced a surge of temporary work during the last three decades. Employing a cost and benefit analysis, this study identifies labor shortages and the weakness of job protection against arbitrary dismissal, both preconditions that have affected the collective-action preferences of temporary and permanent workers in China since 2010. Although the former has lowered the cost of collective action for temporary workers in China, the latter has increased the opportunity cost for permanent workers. Analyzing the Chinese General Social Survey in 2013, this study finds that temporary workers are twice as likely as permanent workers to actively join in collective action, suggesting that the prevalence of precarious work in China does not necessarily disempower Chinese workers.