Labour Contract Law in China
Hello All,
This power point presentation of Prof Chang Kai, was used during the Brussels VUB-BICCS China Conference on labor law last week. It gives a good general view of the third version of the draft.
He is the chief editor of the draft labor law in China. The procedure used for this draft law was quite uncommon in China mainland. The same procedure was only used for the property law. It consists of three readings, a public publishing and debate. A new thing was that the first draft labor contract law was written by an external academic, Prof. Chang Kai of Rennin University Beijing.
The final decision on this draft is not made by the small classic standing committee but by the broader level. A lot of business man sits in this larger committee. Some China watchers say that 1/4 of the members are CPC members who are also businessman, CEO or manager of important Chinese companies. So the « employers’ fraction » in the CPC and the state machinery is quite strong.
US and EU Chambers of Commerce attacked the draft several times. They used the public debate space to introduce employers « amendments ». The European Chamber softened their position after some ETUC pressure. These employers’ associations roam freely in China. They have full staffed lobby offices in China etc… And they act in the same style they are used to do in Washington or Brussels. The Asian transnational companies active in China mainland lobbied in a different Asian way.
The labor community in the world was quite focused and kept a close eye.
Some Chinese academics undermined the draft law by telling that it is going too fast and will not be implemented because the China society is not ready for it.. On the other hand Prof. Chang Kai (and other academics) defended strongly a rebalance of the power relation towards the workers’ side. So the draft produced also an academic divergence on the public scene.
Is this all an emerging classical “class struggle” in China ?
The 26th of June this draft will pass in China and it will be a progress in many ways except the enforcement which is another important aspect.
Enjoy the reading,
All the best,
Carlos Polenus
