China’s Government-Controlled Unions Call for Reform Following Labor Unrest

BEIJING—China will allow its government-controlled labor unions more power in negotiating wages and greater democracy in voting for union leaders, an official from the country’s main umbrella union confirmed Sept. 9.

The push to strengthen and give more credibility to China’s labor unions comes on the heels of a summer filled with labor strife and strikes across the country’s manufacturing zones. High-profile strikes over poor wages and working conditions hit some of the country’s largest employers in recent months, including a large Honda automotive plant. Worker unrest also rose after a spate of employee suicides in the Foxconn plant at ...