1 Introduction 1
2 Chinese fair work law from 1912 to 1978: creation and destruction 13
3 A second start: the re-creation of labour market and legal institutions from 1978 to 1994 33
4 The Labour Law of 1994: structuring modern Chinese work regulation 48
5 After the Labour Law: crisis and regulatory responses from 1994 to 2007 70
6 The Labour Contract Law of 2007: reforming contract to protect work standards? 86
7 Making reform work? Dispute resolution, labour inspection and firm behaviour since 2007 108
8 Conclusion: eight observations about fair work law in China 143
Methodological appendix: interviews 153
Notes 156
References 168
Index 184