Chinese Labour Law Development and Hukou Discrimination

Abstract

It has commonly been suggested that the Hukou system has created a particular form of social origin amongst Chinese citizens, namely Hukou status, which is the key ground for over 200 million rural migrant workers to be treated discriminatorily. It also creates a challenge for China to deliver her signatory promise under ILO Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention No. 111, which explicitly prohibits discrimination on the ground of “social origin”. This chapter discusses the nature of so-called Hukou discrimination against rural migrant workers and the role of labour legal instruments, including Convention No. 111, in combating such inequality. The chapter concludes that mainstream scholarship to date has overstated the role of rural/urban Hukou registration, while, at the same time, it has, relatively speaking, under-emphasized the growing significance of registered residency in contributing to labour inequality. Therefore, Convention No. 111 remains valid and significant in guiding China to eradicate Hukou inequality for rural migrant workers.