Arbitration services for employees in labor disputes will be
provided free of charge if a new law is given the go-ahead.
Draft of the law on mediation and arbitration of labor disputes,
submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People's
Congress (NPC) for its second review yesterday, proposes public
funds cover the cost of arbitration committees.
It also says employers must present relevant evidence to the
committees as required or face punishment.
One highlight of the draft is the granting of final
decision-making powers to arbitration committees in three kinds of
cases.
These are: Disputes over labor payments, workplace injuries,
compensation and pensions; disputes over holidays and social
security; and disputes over collective contracts.
The current regulation, adopted by the State Council in 1993,
comprises a dispute-settlement process of mediation, arbitration
and a trial.
"The new procedure aims to greatly shorten the time taken to
settle labor disputes and cut costs," Yang Xingfu, a standing
committee member of the congress, said.
The draft legislation, along with the Labor Contract Law and
Employment Promotion Law, which are scheduled to take effect next
January, will create a legal framework to further improve
employment and labor relations, Zheng Gongcheng, also a member of
the NPC Standing Committee, said.
Figures from the Ministry of Labor and Social Security show that
since 1987, the number of labor dispute cases has been rising by an
average of 27.3 percent a year as the country's economy grows and
workers become more aware of their rights.
Cases involving payment and social security accounted for
two-thirds of the total 317,000 labor dispute cases in 2006.
(China Daily October 25, 2007)