December 2021
CLD Research Associate Aleksandar Matković (Institute of Economic Sciences, Belgrade) has recently published a paper on China's labor dispatch to Serbia.
The full article is available to download here.
Abstract
This article represents the first attempt to tackle China’s labor dispatch in Serbia. It shows how its institutionalization in both Serbia and China followed increasing Sino-Serbian relations and Chinese investment. It then traces the increase of dispatching practices to November 2018 to a single company – Europe’s first Chinese manufacturer – called ‘Linglong’. By cross-referencing various data sources, including legal regulations, investigative journals, and labor data obtained from the Serbian National Employment Agency and the company itself, the article explained the history and dual dynamics of increased investment and increased influx of workers. The paper explores labor dispatch in more detail through two cases of Chinese and Vietnamese workers in Serbia. Finally, it identifies where further research is needed in the history and the legal regulation of unfree labor.
