White Paper: New Labor Relations Taking Shape in China

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, April 29, 2002

White Paper: New Labor Relations Taking Shape in China

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A new type of labor relations in consonance with the socialist market economy has basically shaken up in China, according to the white paper titled "Labor and Social Security in China", which was made public on Monday.

China commits itself to the maintenance of harmonious and stable labor relations and has formed an initial system of laws and regulations, with the Labor Law of the People's Republic of China as the main body, to adjust labor relations, says the white paper, which was issued by the Information Office of the State Council.

The white paper says China has established the labor contract and group contract systems, tripartite coordination mechanism of the government, trade unions and enterprises, labor standard system, labor dispute handling system and labor protection supervisory system, basically shaking up a new type of labor relations in consonance with the socialist market economy.

According to the white paper, China started to try out a labor contract system in the mid-1980s, which was energetically promoted in the 1990s. As a result, the labor contract system is now universally implemented in urban enterprises of every description.

The labor contract system clarifies the rights and obligations of the employers and employees, and safeguards the employees' right to select jobs and the employers' right to select employees.

The Chinese government encourages enterprises to continuously strengthen the functions of the workers' congresses and trade unions, and improve the system of employees' democratic participation, the white paper says.

To form a self-coordination mechanism of labor relations in enterprises, China has trial-implemented and promoted a group contract system through equal consultation, which has been popularized.

By the end of 2001, the number of group contracts signed by enterprises nationwide and submitted to the labor and social security administrative departments for the record had reached 270, 000.

China has made active efforts to establish the government-trade union-enterprise tripartite coordination mechanism in conformity with its actual conditions. In this mechanism, representatives from government's labor and social security departments at all levels, trade unions and enterprises constitute a coordination organ to conduct communication and consultation on major problems relating to labor relations, and put forth suggestions on the drafting of labor and social security regulations, major reform programs, policies and measures concerning readjustment of the interests of the three parties.

So far, a dozen provinces and municipalities, including Beijing, Tianjin Hebei, Shanxi and Jiangsu, and the two cities of Shenzhen and Dalian have set up regional tripartite coordination mechanisms for labor relations.

The white paper says, at present, a standard labor system is basically in place, centering on the Labor Law of the People's Republic of China and covering areas such as working hours, rest and vacation, wage, prohibition of the use of child labor, special labor protection for women employees and under-age workers, work quotas and job safety and hygiene. The system has been adjusted and improved along with the country's economic and social development.

To ensure that all workers enjoy the right to work, rest and vacation, China adopts an eight-hours-a-day and 40-hours-a-week working system.

The state prohibits hiring people under the age of 16, and punishes the illegal employment of child labor. So far, China has worked out more than 200 national and trade standards on work and personnel quotas and has also promulgated other labor standards, such as job classification standards and job skill standards, according to the white paper.

The Chinese government has always maintained that labor standards must be in sync with the country's level of economic and social development, that they should guarantee basic human rights and promote economic development and social progress, and on this basis it should be gradually improved. China values the experience of other countries in formulating and implementing labor standards and, in time, will accede to relevant international labor conventions in line with the actual conditions of its economic and social development.

The Chinese government holds that all labor disputes should be handled according to law and in a timely fashion, and that the lawful rights and interests of both parties involved should be protected. The Chinese government encourages both parties in a dispute to solve their problems through negotiation and consultation.

Chinese laws and regulations clearly define the procedures and organs responsible for the settlement of labor disputes.

By the end of 2001, China had established 3,192 labor dispute arbitration committees at the county-level or above, consisting of nearly 20,000 full-time and part-time arbitrators.

From August 1, 1993, when the Regulations of the People's Republic of China Concerning the Handling of Labor Disputes in Enterprises was promulgated, to the end of 2001, labor dispute arbitration committees across the country officially handled 688, 000 labor disputes, involving 2.368 million workers. More than 90 percent of these disputes were settled, says the white paper.

A supervision system for labor security has been gradually established in China since 1993. By the end of 2001, China had set up 3,174 labor security supervision organs, with 40,000 labor security supervisors.

The white paper says that the Chinese government adheres to a diversified distribution system with distribution according to work as the main form. The principle is to give priority to efficiency with due consideration to fairness. Reforms are being made to the wage system so that market mechanism can play its regulatory role in the distribution of income and that workers' incomes can increase as the economy develops and enterprises' economic returns increase.

The white paper says that by the end of 2001, the annual per- capita money wage for urban workers had reached 10,870 yuan, 16.3 times the figure for 1978. After allowing for inflation, the average annual increase rate was 5.5 percent in real terms.

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