The much anticipated Regulations on the Promotion of Harmonious Labour Relations in the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone [2] was approved by the Shenzhen Municipal People’s Congress on 23 September 2008.

CLB believes the Draft Regulations [3] issued for public discussion earlier in the year represented important development in China’s labour law which could lay the groundwork for improved labour relations and give trade unions the opportunity to effectively represent workers in collective bargaining with management.

And while the final legislation, to be implemented on 1 November, keeps much of the Draft intact, there have been some significant revisions in terms of structure, wording and emphasis that reflect the concerns expressed by legislators, labour and management organizations during the discussion period. There are changes that benefit workers, but at the same time some useful draft proposals, particularly those related to the collective consultation process and workers dispatched by labour supply companies, have been removed.changes that benefit workers and soe period stipulated and n clauses, h execption d sions in terms of structure, wordi

In discussing the role of workers’ assemblies and congresses in the democratic management process, Article 11, for the first time in China’s labour legislation, uses the term “workers’” (laodongzhe 劳动者) as opposed to “staff and workers’” (zhigong 职工 ). “Staff and workers,” is an archaic concept deriving from the era of state-planning when all urban workers were employed by the state. With the growth of the private economy over the last three decades, only 40 percent of urban employees are now classified as “staff and workers.” See An alternative analysis of the Chinese government’s wage statistics. [4]  The aim of this new wording is probably to enlarge the scope of workers’ congresses by including all those not classified as “staff and workers,” such temporary and seasonal workers and those dispatched by labour supply companies. Moreover, “staff and workers’” assemblies and congresses have always been presided over by the enterprise, with the trade union merely responsible for their administration and coordination. “Staff and workers” is a concept related to management, whereas “workers” are the business of the trade union. Perhaps the deeper intention of the new wording is therefore to shift the initiative from the enterprise to the trade union.

However, whereas the Draft provided a clear definition of the work positions that can be occupied by workers from labour supply companies, and suggested that workers from labour supply companies in positions outside that remit be considered as regular employees and offered a labour contract, these definitions and suggestions have been removed from the Regulations.

There are an additional four clauses on the rights and obligations of both the employer and the employee. Whereas in the past, Chinese labour law has generally specified the rights of the employee and the obligations of the employer, the new clauses stress the reciprocity of both parties, with more emphasis placed on the obligations of the employee. For example, Article 9 stipulates that workers should: “labour diligently to complete their tasks,” “obey professional ethics,” and “seek recourse and protect their rights through legal channels.” All these obligations were absent from the Draft.

Article 22 stipulates: “Employers must guarantee workers at least one uninterrupted rest period of 24 hours per work-week,” strengthening and clarifying the definition of the workers’ rest period contained in the Draft, which suggested that: “the employer should guarantee the worker at least a day of rest per work-week.”

Article 27 goes further than the Draft in defining the necessary conditions for collective consultations and the information that employers should provide for the consultation process, stipulating: “necessary conditions refer to arranging the venue for collective consultations, not taking up the rest-period of workers participating in collective consultations, ensuring that the pay of participating workers are not consequently affected etc.” Information to be provided by the employer includes the total amount of workers' pay, management expenses, company financial status, programs for skills training and technical renovation, the circumstances surrounding the payment of social security premiums, and the use of funds for professional training etc. In addition, Article 29 strengthens the rules on the appointment of professionals as legal representatives by both parties.

However many other concrete procedures for collective consultations contained in the Draft have been removed from the Regulations, such as Article 20 of the Draft which stated: “If production and business operations make it necessary to prolong working hours, the employer may decide or agree to do so by means of collective consultation or a collective contract in accordance with the law, provided that the workers give their free consent and their health is ensured.” The Regulations, reverts instead to the language of the Labour Law, which specifies only that overtime is to be determined through employer-employee consultation. Moreover, the Regulations does not reiterate or reaffirm the rules in the Labour Law on a 40-hour work-week and to cap overtime at 36 hours.

In terms of individual employee rights, Article 43 stipulates that workers whose rights have been violated can seek redress through the local government labour administrative department, and that the department should deal with the complaint within the time period stipulated and inform the complaining party of the result.

Finally, the Regulations include an additional chapter on legal liability, comprising ten clauses, nine of which delineate the liability of the employer, with the remaining clause defining the liability of government and trade union officials.