China Labor Watch


China Labor Watch is a New York City, New York-based non-government organization founded by labor activist Li Qiang in October 2000. Its mission is the defense of workers' rights in China. Through research, advocacy and legal assistance, CLW seeks to help China's workers become more informed of their rights and more empowered to realize those rights within their communities.

Facts

Founded in 2000, CLW promotes the rights of workers living in the People's Republic of China from its offices in New York City and mainland China. To achieve this goal, the organization:
  1. Publishes independent investigative reports of factories in China.
  2. Publicizes news of sub-standard working conditions and wages to the international public.
  3. Works quietly with multinational corporations who use Chinese suppliers to pressure those firms to conform to international labor standards.
  4. Empowers the workers themselves to fight for their legal rights.
China Labor Watch has several programs in mainland China to improve local working conditions and promote workers’ legal rights. One of these is the Worker Outreach and Training Program, which provides free classes on Chinese labor law to workers in a neighborhood setting. As a result, the workers become more capable of negotiating with employers and demanding fairer wages and working conditions. Examples of subjects taught in these classes are what to look for in a contract, health dangers in workplaces, and how to bring grievances to the local government's labor departments. By 2007, China Labor Watch had trained over five hundred workers. The organization has distributed forty thousand copies of booklets that explain in clear, accessible terms the hours, wages, and benefits to which workers are entitled by law.
Another program, Hotline Program offers consultancy assistance and legal assistance in terms of labor contracts, social insurance, occupational safety, wages and benefits, and working hours and holidays. China Labor Watch also conducts independent investigations in factories, which cover electronic, retail, footwear, toy, garment, printing, furniture and other manufacturing areas.

Interventions

Often, CLW engages in direct interventions with regard to situations in China. Examples:
Occasionally, the organization issues its own reports.
Examples:
Since 2003, CLW has maintained a bilingual website in English and Chinese to provide information to any interested individuals.