collective bargaining mechanisms were first piloted in the mid s and have been evolving ever since the landmark labour contract law sets out regulations governing collective contracts at the same time tripartite coordination bodies have been set up at provincial level in as well as at city and prefecture levels union membership has also expanded coinciding with an increasingly tight labour market while it remained stable at about million throughout the s union membership has more than doubled during the s to reach million over a quarter of the labour force in cai and wang a significant number of countries increased minimum wages in the years before the financial crisis of ilo while others made changes in response to the crisis