Of mines and markets : Labour regimes and agency in Chinese-structured GPNs in Zambia

Abstract

Over the last ten years, the presence of Chinese capital on the African continent has vastly increased. Investors are creating thousands of jobs in a variety of sectors, integrating African workers and consumers into distinct production networks, owing to the heavy state involvement and ownership of capital in the extraction sector. One strain of critical perspectives on Sino-African relations are concerns that Chinese investors are exporting much criticised labour conditions to Africa. This is given weight by the many protests, strikes, and demonstrations that have occurred in Chinese-owned workplaces on the continent. This thesis is an attempt to understand such actions. It asks: what are the forms of labour agency found in Chinese workplaces in Zambia, and what factors influence such action?