LABOR LAW IN THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
The following description of labor law in China is taken from the
State
Department's report on Chinese economic policy
. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association:
China's 1982 Constitution provides for "freedom of association," but this right is
subject to the interest of the state and the leadership of the Chinese Communist
Party. China's sole officially recognized workers' organization, the All-China Federation
of Trade Unions (ACFTU), is controlled by the Communist Party. Independent trade unions
are illegal. Workers in companies with foreign investors are guaranteed the right
to form unions, which then must affiliate with the ACFTU. In 1997, China signed the
UN Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which calls for the right to form
free trade unions. To date, however, Beijing has strongly resisted any attempts to
establish trade unions other than the ACFTU.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively:
China's National Labor Law, which entered into force on January 1, 1995, permits
workers in both state and private enterprises in China to bargain collectively. The
National Labor Law provides for workers and employers at all types of enterprises
to sign individual as well as collective contracts. Collective contracts should be worked
out between ACFTU or worker representatives and management and specify such matters
as working conditions, wage distribution, and hours of work. Through the early autumn
of 1998, Chinese union and labor officials reported an increasing number of experiments
in collective bargaining, particularly at foreign-invested enterprises where capital
interests are clearly delineated.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor:
In addition to prisons and reform through labor facilities, which contain inmates
sentenced through judicial procedures, China also maintains a network of "reeducation
through labor" camps, to which inmates are sentenced through non-judicial procedures.
Chinese justice officials have stated that there is a much heavier emphasis on education
than on labor in reeducation through labor facilities. Most reports conclude that
work conditions in the penal system's light manufacturing factories are similar to
those in ordinary factories, but conditions on farms and in mines can be harsh.
d. Minimum Age for Employment of Children:
China's National Labor Law forbids employers to hire workers under 16 years of age
and specifies administrative review, fines and revocation of business licenses of
those businesses that hire minors. Laborers between the ages 16 and 18 are referred
to as "juvenile workers" and are prohibited from engaging in certain forms of physical work
including labor in mines. Good public awareness, a cheap, abundant supply of young
adults of a legal working age, nearly universal primary schooling, and labor law
enforcement all serve to reduce opportunities and incentives to hire child workers. Neither
the International Labor Organization (ILO) nor UNICEF believes that there is a significant
child labor problem in China.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work:
The National Labor Law codified many of the general principles of China's labor reform,
setting out provisions on employment, labor contracts, working hours, wages, skill
development and training, social insurance, dispute resolution, legal responsibility, supervision and inspection. The law does not set a national minimum wage, but allows
local governments to determine their own standards on minimum wages. On May 1, 1995,
China reduced the national standard workweek from 44 hours to 40 hours excluding
overtime. The National Labor Law mandates a 24-hour rest period per week, does not allow overtime work in excess of three hours a day or 36 hours a month
and sets forth a required scale of overtime compensation. In 1998, the government
implemented a program to provide funds to 400 of 600 cities to ensure that people
were able to maintain a minimum standard of living.
Every work unit must designate a health and safety officer, and the ILO has established
a training program for these officers. Moreover, while the right to strike is not
provided for in the 1982 Constitution, the Trade Union Law explicitly recognizes
the right of unions to "suggest that staff and workers withdraw from sites of danger" and
to participate in accident investigations. According to Ministry of Labor statistics
released in June 1998, in 1997 there were 18,268 work-related accidents which claimed
17,558 lives. The Ministry of Labor and Social Security cites failure to enforce and
implement government safety regulations as the primary cause for the high rate of
accidents.
f. Rights in Sectors with U.S. Investment:
Worker rights practices do not appear to vary substantially among sectors, but safety
standards are higher in U.S.-invested companies in general.
�
[http://liberty.direct.at]�[[email protected]]