Business Alert - China
|
Business Alert - China
|
|
The Ministry of Labour and Social Security has recently promulgated the Regulations on Collective Contracts which for the first time contain provisions for "special protection for female and underage workers, vocational skills training, rewards and penalties, and lay-offs" to be included in collective contracts. The new regulations, coming into force on 1 May 2004, will supersede the existing version promulgated by the former Ministry of Labour in 1994. A collective contract refers to the written agreement entered into by an employing organisation and the workers it employs through collective negotiation concerning the terms and conditions of employment. At present, about 100 million workers in China are covered by collective contracts. Of this number, over 33.3 million workers are under regional collective contracts (83,000 in total) and 61.68 million are under the collective contracts of 309,000 individual enterprises.?/font> The new regulations set out in detail the scope and procedure of collective negotiation, and the formation, responsibilities and rights of the negotiation representatives. Collective contracts are required to carry provisions on the "special protection for female and underage workers", such as the types of manual work which are unsuitable for female and underage workers; labour protection to female workers during their menstruation, pregnancy and breastfeeding periods; regular health checks for female and underage workers; and the system for hiring and registering underage workers. The new rules also stipulate the standard provisions regarding lay-offs including the overall package, procedures, implementation measures and compensation terms. Under the new regulations, collective contracts should be signed by the same number of representatives from both parties. The new regulations are formulated to standardise collective negotiation and the signing of collective contracts, as well as to safeguard the lawful rights of workers and employing organisations according to law. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
