Implementation Regulations for China's Labor Contract Law

1.Introduction On January 1,2008,the Labor Contract Law of the People's Republic of China(LCL)became effective,resulting in wide- spread changes in labor policy for all companies and other af- fected organizations.As is the case with legislating in China, many details were left for resolution in implementing regulations,

On Autonomy of Will and the Applicable Law of Labor Contract:From the Perspective of Chinese Legislation

There are so many different opinions on whether the autonomy of will is applied in labor contract.In this paper,the author discusses the application and limitation of autonomy of will in labor contract,and puts forward some suggestions on the application of Article 43 of Law of the Application of Law for Foreign-related Civil Relationships after the introduction of Chinese legislation of the applicable law of labor contract.Autonomy of will is a useful principle in resolving disputes arising from foreign-related labor contract in China.

Contract Labor and the Right to Freedom of Association in the Oil and Gas Industry in Nigeria

Contract labor is one of several terms, which are widely used to describe work arrangements, which do not fall within the traditional definition of employment. Contracting out services and getting employees through contractors have become widespread practice by many employers because it helps them to cut cost since these contractors could often supply these workers more cheaply and efficiently. Labor rights and standards are sometimes seen as sacrificial lambs on the altar of competitive edge by companies due to the perception that they constitute ＂costs＂ which if eliminated or reduced to the barest minimum, will impact positively on the ability of companies to compete favorably in the global market and consequent improvement of their balance sheets, to the joy of shareholders. Contract work is increasingly becoming the norm in Nigeria＇s oil and gas industry as companies undergo restructuring, concentration on core activities and modifications in work organization and technology. These factors certainly affect traditional employment relations and the exercise of freedom of association and collective bargaining rights inherent in them. Contract workers now make up about 60% of the workforce in the industry and they are denied the right to organize into Unions. The denial of this right has resulted in exploitation of these workers. This paper seeks to examine the adequacy of labor law governing trade unionism in Nigeria in ensuring the right of contract workers to freedom of association, as well as its conformity to international labor standards. It is argued that Nigerian labor laws need to be enforced to ensure that this category of workers benefits from this right. In addition a proposal is made for a law reform which will define contract labor and provide a legal framework for the regulation and protection of contract workers in Nigeria in order to guarantee their right to unionize and enable them to improve their rights at work.

Link China issues regulation to clear labor contract law misunderstanding

China's State Council,the country's Cabinet,issued an implementation regulation for Labor Contract Law on September 18 in an effort to clarify confusion surrounding the law.

Psychological Contract within Labor Relation and Its Management Strategy

The paper argues that labor contracts between employees and organization includes two facets, i.e. economic contracts and psychological contracts, and along with enterprise competition becoming fierce increasingly and labor force becoming diversified all the more, the psychological contracts have crucial effects on employees＇ attitudes, behaviors and performances. We also argue that, under the challenging organization context, if managers want to make strategic partnership with employees, they must link employees with hearts, pay attention to the management of psychological contracts before, during and after signing labor contracts, and keep dynamic equilibrium of psychological contracts.

Improve Labor Contract System, Safeguard Lawful Rights and Interests of Laborers——An interview with Prof. Guan Huai of Law School of Renmin University of China

EDITOR＇S NOTE： The Draft Labor Contract Law of the People＇s Republic of China has been completed and was published for soliciting comments on March 20. In a short period of one month, 191,849 pieces of comments and opinions were received. Prior to the promulgation of the law, this reporter interviewed Mr. Guan Huai, a noted Chinese expert in labor law, professor of the Law School of the Renmin University of China and law advisor to the All-China Federation of Trade Unions.

Administration of Contract,Labor Trade Improved

The Ministry of Foreign Trade andEconomic Cooperation will accelerate theapproval of contract and trade rights forqualified producers,construction companiesand design

Labor Contract Law,Warm or Cold for Migrant Worker?

The new labor contract law has exerted an unprecedented impact on manufacturing industry that has been progressing at much cheaper labor cost over years. The fact is the workers are not born cheap, they are made less costly without necessary welfares by some factory owners who often go to extreme to run sort of "sweatshop", as often reported by local and western media. The new labor rules could not possibly liberate all those sufferers.

The Institutional Construction of Collective Contracts under the Labor Contract Law: Dilemma and Solution

The Labor Contract Law classifies collective contracts as special labor contracts, ignoring the fundamental differences between collective contracts and labor contracts. This has plunged it into jurisprudential obstacles and institutional difficulties. In terms of the main entities, efficacy, dispute settlement mechanisms, etc. collective contracts have their own institutional characteristics. They should be incorporated into the legislative framework for collective labor relations in future legislation, and should link up with trade unions, collective consultation and collective dispute settlement to form a complete system of collective labor law.

Labor protection,information disclosure and analyst forecasts:Evidence from China's Labor Contract Law

Labor protection increases employees’stability and strengthens their monitoring role,improving firms’information environment and increasing analysts’earnings forecast accuracy.Using the implementation of China’s Labor Contract Law as a quasi-natural experiment,we find that labor protection significantly improves analyst forecasts.This positive impact is stronger when agency problems are weaker,board independence is greater,corporate reputation is better and industry competition is more intense.Enhanced labor protection significantly reduces firms’business risk and accrual-based earnings management,decreases stock price synchronicity and increases market pricing efficiency.Our findings of significant impacts of China’s Labor Contract Law on analysts’forecasting behaviors offer important guidance for promoting the development of the Chinese capital market and policy making in labor protection.

The Internal Labor Market and the Transformation of Labor Relations in China:Based on Survey Data and Fieldwork on Migrant Workers in the Pearl River Delta

Our survey data on migrant workers in the Pearl River Delta region from 2006 to 2010 and recent fieldwork show that the enactment of the Labor Contract Law encouraged both the signing of labor contracts and the long-term nature of these contracts, making enterprises more willing to increase investment in human capital, increase employee insurance and welfare and give more attention to human-centered management, leading eventually to the establishment of an internal labor market that incorporates migrant workers. This is accompanied by progress in human resources management techniques and strategies in SMEs and private enterprise. Although the Labor Contract Law to some extent intensified the tendency for migrant workers to undertake collective protection of their rights, the establishment of an internal labor market could also ease the tension between labor and capital and lead to employees becoming more rational and prudent in safeguarding their rights, thereby providing a basis for a transition from confrontation to win-win cooperation between labor and capital. The Labor Contract Law has accelerated and strengthened the trend of individualized development in China’s labor relations. The protection of labor rights through the two channels of the 'rigid' legal system and 'flexible' internal management can help reduce the risk of large-scale collective labor disputes and establish a relatively harmonious institutionalized labor relationship.

On the Value Reconstruction and System Innovation of the Labor Contract Law

Since its very release in March 2006, the opinion-soliciting draft of the Labor Contract Law has sparked considerable controversy. Indeed, the whole process of its consideration, promulgation, implementation and amendment has been accompanied by complex questioning and a diversity of views. This has to some extent reduced appreciation of the value of the Labor Contract Law itself. In the economy and society, rational legal construction can minimize the damage done by the failure of private negotiations. The Labor Contract Law is dedicated to changing the action space of workers and enterprises in order to promote efficiency in production and equity in distribution. With the aim of constructing and developing harmonious and stable labor relations, the law seeks to encourage workers and enterprises to forge communities of shared interests, shared undertakings, a common destiny and a joint mission; it is here that the true value of the law lies. In terms of institutional design, in building a system that categorizes workplace employment, the Labor Contract Law makes a breakthrough in workplace labor relations management and sets up an innovative labor relations management system with Chinese characteristics. Faced with the new normal in labor relations, we should make further progress in strengthening democraticenterprise management, optimizing the developmental environment of business, etc.

The Roles Played by the Staff and Workers' Representative Congress in the Formation of Work Regulations

Article 4 of the Labor Contract Law lays down the right of the Staff and Workers＇ Representative Congress （SWRC） to deliberate on the formulation of （intra-enterprise） work regulations, but this has become a ＂soft＂ law in judicial practice. The judicial criteria for judging the validity of work regulations are in essence determined by the judge＇s judgment on their reasonableness. As an important embodiment of Chinese politics, economics and culture, the transformation of the SWRC that accompanied the market economy has not negated its value as an indigenous traditional resource. The SWRC does not just enjoy deliberative rights in the formation of regulations, as clearly specified in constitutional law, but also has rights under the law in local legislation and practice. Hence the system of work regulations is neither a unilateral decision on the part of management nor a contract, but rather an autonomous norm developed through the SWRC mechanism. Given the mandatory nature of Article 4 of the Labor Contract Law, regulations will only be valid after they havegone through a democratic process. The further development of the theory of normative system formation should endow the SWRC with greater rights and integrate it smoothly with the collective contract system to standardize collective labor relations.