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China Daily / 2025-12 / 11 / Page021

CENTURY OF PROGRESS

By LIANG KAIYAN | China Daily | Updated: 2025-12-11 00:00
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All-China Federation of Trade Unions helps to secure rights, access to education and wide-ranging support system for hundreds of millions of workers

Marking its 100th anniversary this year, the All-China Federation of Trade Unions has mobilized hundreds of millions of workers to strive for national rejuvenation, contributing to China's prosperity and the well-being of its people.

On May 1, 1925, the ACFTU was founded at the second national labor congress held in Guangzhou, Guangdong province. This landmark event signified the political and organizational unity of China's working class, establishing a central leadership body that propelled the country's labor movement into a new phase of development.

Since its inception, the ACFTU has consistently operated under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, rallying and mobilizing the working class to fulfill a central role in advancing the key missions of each historical period.

During the New Democratic Revolution period (1921-49), the ACFTU raised political consciousness among workers, galvanized revolutionary forces and engaged in the struggle against imperialism, feudalism and bureaucratic capitalism. In the era of socialist revolution and construction, they focused on worker education and launched labor emulation campaigns, contributing to the consolidation of new political power and building an industrial foundation.

In the new period of reform, opening-up and socialist modernization, the ACFTU guided workers in supporting reforms and participating in national construction, playing a vital role in liberating and developing productive forces.

Golden era

Over the past century, the core mission of China's trade union movement has been to unite and mobilize the workforce under Party leadership for the goal of national rejuvenation.

Since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, the CPC's strengthened guidance has ensured that the ACFTU follows a development path with Chinese characteristics, opening a new chapter for the workers' movement in the new era.

The structure of China's workforce has undergone profound changes, marked by improved educational levels, rapid growth in tertiary sector employment and a steady enhancement in overall competence and technical skills. Notably, the reform to build a high-caliber industrial workforce has achieved important phased outcomes.

The 20th National Congress of the CPC in 2022 defined the Party's central task as uniting and leading the Chinese people in building a great modern socialist country in all respects, achieving the second centenary goal, and advancing national rejuvenation through Chinese modernization.

Standing again at the forefront of the times, China's trade unions are embracing this mission with innovation and determination, mobilizing hundreds of millions of workers to contribute to the comprehensive construction of a modern socialist country.

"The central task set forth at the 20th CPC National Congress defines the overarching theme of China's working-class movement in the new era. Moving forward on the new journey, it is essential to focus squarely on this Party mandate and galvanize the immense strength of workers and all laboring people," said Xu Liuping, vice-chairman of the ACFTU.

At the assembly workshop of Xi'an Aerospace Engine Company, a subsidiary of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, welder Shi Shuaishuai, wearing a protective mask and holding a welding torch, polished pipe fittings amid a shower of sparks. In September 2024, Shi won the championship in the welding category of the eighth National Workers Vocational Skills Competition.

"Competitions are not just about skill contests; they serve as a platform for learning and exchange," said Shi. "Every match allows me to feel the power of unity and progress within the working class."

In 2024, various competition activities organized by trade unions at all levels across the country covered more than 500,000 enterprises and institutions, involving more than 60 million employees. Labor and skills contests have become an important platform for stimulating workers' creative potential and leveraging their role as a main force.

Meanwhile, the collective negotiation system has played a significant role in coordinating labor relations, serving as an effective mechanism for promoting enterprise development and protecting workers' rights. Particularly during the pandemic, it played a key role in stabilizing employment and has evolved into an important channel for workers in new forms of employment to express their demands.

At the Tongren power supply branch of China Southern Power Grid in Guizhou province, Huang Lei, deputy head of the distribution network automation team, has been working at the frontline for 16 years and holds seven patents.

Just before this year's May Day, Huang was honored as a model worker of Guizhou. "Workers in the new era should not only endure hardship but also dare to innovate," Huang said.

According to Huang, he has applied his seven patents to create tools that have helped his team increase power grid fault-handling efficiency by approximately 60 percent.

In recent years, trade unions at all levels have announced annual national master craftsmen and role models. From 2021 to 2024, they collectively recognized 1,059 winners of National May 1 Labor Medal, 4,286 medalists and 4,331 pioneer units. The spirit of model workers, laborers and craftsmanship has been embraced by the public.

Chai Guoliang, an employee at Jinchuan Group's nickel smelting plant, has advanced from a front-line worker to an expert recognized with a special government allowance from the State Council. His career trajectory exemplifies the success of China's industrial workforce development reforms.

In April 2017, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council issued a reform plan for the industrial workforce in the new era, which outlined 25 targeted reform measures across five key areas, marking the beginning of a comprehensive overhaul to build a high-caliber industrial workforce.

Currently, the number of skilled workers in China has surpassed 200 million, including over 60 million highly-skilled workers, with career advancement channels becoming more accessible. Front-line workers and farmers accounted for 16.69 percent of the deputies to the 14th National People's Congress, and the proportion of industrial workers receiving the National May 1 Labor Medal has consistently exceeded 40 percent since 2018.

Additionally, the ACFTU's "1+1+N" craftsmen academy framework has established more than 1,000 institutions, and the "skills for a strong nation" platform has delivered more than 200 million training sessions to workers. The Study for Dreams Initiative, jointly launched by the ACFTU and the Ministry of Education, has enabled more than 2.4 million migrant workers to upgrade their academic qualifications and skills.

Service stations

In recent years, trade unions at all levels have improved the diversified dispute resolution mechanisms for labor conflicts. As the representatives and defenders of workers' interests, they have fulfilled their fundamental duties of safeguarding rights and providing services. A collaborative mechanism involving trade unions, courts, procuratorates, human resources and justice departments has been established, and the coverage rate of the tripartite labor relations coordination mechanism at or above the county level has exceeded 90 percent.

Trade unions at all levels continue to promote the improvement of laws and regulations concerning workers' rights, safeguarding the interests of migrant workers, labor dispatch workers, and those in new forms of employment at the source.

On top of that, the nationwide network of trade union service stations has been increasingly refined, with focused efforts on establishing stations for outdoor workers to address practical difficulties such as finding places to eat, drink and rest.

By the end of 2024, a network of 186,100 trade union service stations had been established across the country, with a daily service volume of 2.31 million person-times, and a cumulative annual service volume of nearly 800 million person-times.

Meanwhile, progress has been made in organizing and recruiting workers in new forms of employment. Since launching a campaign in 2021 to safeguard the rights of workers in new forms of employment, the ACFTU had enrolled 20.95 million such workers as members by the first half of 2025.

Through improved top-level design and innovative membership approaches, the reach of trade unions continues to expand. For instance, in Danling, Sichuan province, unions provide educational assistance; in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, blue-collar apartments offer accommodation for workers in new employment forms; and in Changsha, Hunan province, a medical mutual aid "secondary subsidy" program protects workers' health.

Shared future

At the April celebration of the ACFTU's 100th anniversary and the recognition of national model workers, employees pledged to dedicate themselves to their posts with greater passion, driving innovation and contributing strength to the pursuit of Chinese modernization and national rejuvenation.

Wang Zhiqiang, a model worker of Hunan province and vice-president of Sany Group, is leading his team to achieve breakthroughs in core technology research and development, with self-developed innovations such as smart wind power operation and maintenance leading the industry.

"I will continue to excel in my role, leverage the exemplary role of a model worker, and turn commitment into action through innovation. We must seize the opportunities presented by the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation, drive industry progress with groundbreaking achievements and harness the craftsman spirit to advance green transition with collective strength," Wang said.

For 31 years, Guo Rui, a senior engineer at the substation operation and maintenance center of State Grid Lanzhou Power Supply Company, has been safeguarding the power supply for countless households in the Lanzhou area of Gansu province. He noted that in recent years, the company has focused on technological innovation and nurturing skilled talent, with skill enhancement activities organized by trade unions.

"We will hold ourselves to even higher standards, continuing to serve as guardians of household electricity, defenders of grid security, pioneers of technological innovation and practitioners of the craftsman spirit," Guo said.

MA HUI/FOR CHINA DAILY

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