China needs to take measures to safeguard the interests of
employees in foreign-funded enterprises amid growing collective
labor disputes in recent years, a political advisor said
Monday.
Foreign investment shall not be wooed at the cost of working
conditions of employees, and the government should play a guiding
role in coordinating employer-employee relations, said Zhang
Guoxiang at the ongoing annual session of the National Committee of
the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the
country's top advisory body.
Zhang cited a report by the CPPCC foreign affairs committee,
saying that irregular employment practices, low wages, unreasonable
workload, failure to keep in line with social security program, and
lack of work safety measures are major causes of rising collective
labor disputes.
The report, based on a survey of labor relations in Guangdong
and Fujian provinces, says labor dispute arbitration organizations
in Guangdong handled 17,000 cases involving foreign-funded
businesses in 2005, up 69 percent over the previous year.
The CPPCC National Committee has urged the promulgation of a
labor contract law and relevant laws as early as possible and the
establishment of a mechanism to coordinate labor relations.
Foreign investors have established more than 570,000 businesses
in China, employing 25 million people by the end of 2005. More than
480 companies on the list of Fortune Global 500 have made presence
in China.
(Xinhua News Agency March 13, 2007)