The Federation of Trade Unions in eastern China's Jiangsu
Province recently launched a special investigation into the
conditions faced by female employees in non-stated-owned
enterprises.
It found many cases of labor right infringements, with only a
low proportion having contracts, many long extra shifts, and few
financial guarantees during pregnancy.
According to an official from the federation's women employee
committee, Labor Law stipulates that the relationship between an
employer and employee should be detailed in a contract, with a
maximum probationary period of six months. However, only 39.2
percent of women workers in Jiangsu had signed contracts; in
private enterprises, the rate was just 11.4 percent.
Hiring temporary workers is common in non-state-owned
enterprises. Some female employees aren't able to sign a contract
until they work for several consecutive years; some even have
contract signing set as a reward for performing well. Overly long
probationary periods, making it easier to fire and hire staff, are
also not uncommon in small and medium-scale catering
enterprises.
Extended working hours were also recorded in non-state-owned
enterprises. Labor Law restricts one day's working time to eight
hours, and to an average of 44 hours per week. Of the 3,915 women
surveyed, 50.4 percent work over nine hours per day. Overtime in
labor-intensive sectors such as textiles, clothing, toys and
services is much longer with some female workers not having a
single day off.
In one silk firm, women employees worked 14 hours, 7 days a week
and were only allowed to ask for one day's leave without pay each
month.
Despite this, 79.9 percent of women couldn't get the overtime
wages they are entitled to by law. In many enterprises (44.8
percent of those investigated), workers were paid according to
workload, so their wages during holidays, days off and overtime are
virtually expropriated.
Women of childbearing age tend to be avoided during recruitment.
Unmarried young women and those who have already had children
constitute the main part of the female labor force.
For instance, in an electronic business in the south of Jiangsu,
87.4 percent of the total 4,005 women employees were aged under 25
and 56.2 percent under 20. A lot of businesses send pregnant women
home without pay until they are able to work again, especially in
tertiary industries such as catering, leaving them without any
financial security when they need it the most.
(China.org.cn by Zhang Tingting, January 3, 2005)