On February 27, 2009, ILRF Executive Director Bama Athreya addressed a Congressional-Executive Commission on China roundtable entitled "Does China Have a Stability Problem?"

Dr. Athreya focused on China's rising unemployment and resulting labor protests since the onset of the world financial crisis. She disputed corporate allegations that the country's recently-enacted Labor Contract Law is to blame for lay-offs, pointing out that larger, global trends have had a much bigger impact on employment than any single piece of legislation. Dr. Athreya finished by calling for multi-stakeholder dialogue between the United States and China on protecting workers' rights in both countries.

A summary of Dr.Athreya's comments can found in the attached PDF.