Full content: http://www.molss.gov.cn/gb/zt/2007-09/29/content_199056.htm
The Chinese Labor Law (1994) covers such matters as workers' rights, labor contracts, collective contracts, hiring and firing, wages and salaries, working hours and overtime, rest and vacations, the settlement of labor disputes, the role of trade unions, labor administration, and social insurance.
It sets out legal requirements or labor contracts, collective bargaining and collective contracts, social insurance, minimum wage, labor dispute resolution, and factory inspection.
The Law also establishes core labor standards in China, including the eight-hour workday and forty-hour workweek, limits on overtime work, and occupational safety and workplace hygiene. In practice, many factories cannot meet the forty-hour standard, and the challenges are due to many factors.
The following articles are most important:
According to Article 12 of the PRC Labor Law: ”Laborers shall not be discriminated against in employment, regardless of their ethnic community, race, sex, or religious belief.”
The Labor Law provides that an employer may not discriminate on the basis of nationality, race, sex or religious belief. In addition, it provides that an employer is prohibited from discriminating against female workers, unless the type of work is ‘unsuitable for women as stipulated by the state.’ The written policy of the government is to encourage the employment of disabled persons, minority nationalities and military personnel retiring from active service.
According to Article 15 of the PRC Labor Law: ”No employing units shall be allowed to recruit juveniles under the age of 16.”
The Labor Law prohibits the employment of persons under the age of 16 years. Under-age workers between the ages of 16 and 18 years are prohibited from working in underground mining operations and pits, with poisonous or harmful substances, or to engage in physically intense labor. An employer is required to arrange, at their own expense, for regular medical examinations of under-age workers.
According to Articles 36 and 38 of the PRC Labor Law
Chinese law provides for a five day, forty-hour working week, although the employer may extend the hours of work after consultation with a trade union and employees, on the condition that overtime pay is provided, and the work does not exceed thirty-six hours per month. In certain professions and emergency situations, the law stipulates that overtime work may be required of employees. FIEs are required to pay their employees the ‘average wage standard’ of employees in the ‘same industry in the local area’. The law also requires that the average wage standard of a FIE increases progressively, in line with the economic development of the enterprise. A decision concerning wages is made by the FIE’s board of directors, which must take into consideration the enterprise’s productivity rate, economic results, the consumer price index and wage guidelines for the region.
According to Article 51 of the PRC Labor Law: “The employing unit shall pay wages to laborers who observe statutory holidays, take leaves during the periods of marriage or funeral, or participate in social activities in accordance with the law.“
The employer shall pay remuneration for statutory holidays, thus, the 11 days of official national holiday cannot be deducted in calculation of daily wage rates or hourly wage rates.
According to Article 52 of the PRC Labor Law: “The employing unit must establish and perfect the system for occupational safety and health, strictly implement the rules and standards of the State on occupational safety and health, educate laborers on occupational safety and health, prevent accidents in the process of work, and reduce occupational hazards.”
Employers are required to establish a program of workplace health and safety, and to take specific measures to guard against workplace accidents. Such a program requires that employees be provided with the necessary protective equipment such as goggles, work clothes, head coverings and any other items needed for their protection in the workplace. Employers are also required to train employees in health and safety issues and to discipline employees that fail to follow company rules and labor regulations. For workers in dangerous occupations or exposed to hazardous substances, the employer is required to provide regular medical examinations at company expense. A worker has the right to refuse to engage in any task that is considered unsafe, and the right to seek relief from the labor authorities in situations where there are uncorrected problems that may jeopardize employees.
According to Article 73 of the PRC Labor Law: “Laborers shall, in accordance with the law, enjoy social insurance benefits under the following circumstances:
(1) Retirement;
(2) Illness or injury;
(3) Disability caused by work-related injury or occupational disease;
(4) Unemployment; and
(5) Child-bearing.
The survivors of the insured laborers shall be entitled to subsidies for survivors in accordance with the law. The conditions and standards for laborers to enjoy social insurance benefits shall be stipulated by laws, rules and regulations. The social insurance amount that laborers are entitled to must be paid timely and in full. “
Chinese law provides that employees are entitled to, and employers are required to provide, social insurance and welfare benefits, even if the employee prefers to waive such benefits. The Labor Law provides for a national social insurance system that includes the following social insurance and welfare benefits: retirement and pension benefits, worker compensation for job-related injuries and diseases, medical care and disability benefits for injuries or diseases that are not employment-related, unemployment benefits, pregnancy and maternity benefits, and death benefits for survivors. The benefits provided under the PRC system are required to be consistent with the level of national economic development.
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