Division over the draft labour contract law between workers and
employers has heightened this week, with the National People's
Congress (NPC) already sorting through 4,800 responses to the
law.
Employees said the law should put tougher restrictions on the
use of corporate rules to axe workers, while employers, especially
foreign companies, believe the participation of trade unions should
be removed from the process of layoffs.
By yesterday morning, the Standing Committee of the National
People's Congress (NPC) had received about 4,800 suggestions on the
latest draft of the labour contract law, since it was publicized on
NPC's website and in major Chinese media inviting public comment
about the proposed law a week ago.
"The call to ban employers from using corporate rules to damage
the rights of laborers has been widely put forward," Li Yuan,
official of NPC Law Committee, said yesterday.
According to the draft, which still needs to be reviewed by the
NPC before it becomes law, employers could terminate workers'
labour contracts if they are found to be "severely violating"
company rules.
But employees argued it could be used as an excuse for layoffs.
They believe the law should state that the provision applies only
when workers are aware they have broken the rules.
The law also needs to specify under what circumstances employees
are "severely violating" these rules.
Employers, however, are concerned that their flexibility of
firing might shrink if they have to consult trade unions or
representative assemblies of workers, as demanded in the planned
law, to make decisions for regular or economic layoffs.
There is also a dispute about whether the law should require
companies to make severance payments to workers on fixed-term
contracts if their contracts are not renewed.
Some people suggested the law ought to be expanded to cover
employees at public- or government-funded institutions and
individuals taking informal employment.
Presently, it only targets company employees and those working
for privately owned businesses.
In addition, the public were concerned that employers were
increasingly choosing to sign short-term contracts with
workers.
It is also proposed that the probation period for new employees
should be shorter, and more restrictions be put on defaulted wages
and inadequate insurance.
The law is incorrectly widely understood to have been drafted by
the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, but was in fact mostly
drafted by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, according to
professor Jia Junling who was involved in reviewing the draft.
The planned law is set to provide workers with umbrella
protection, especially when there is an unprecedented labor
resource surplus in China.
(China Daily March 28, 2006)