The labour laws in China have got a new teeth and it is likely to protect labour rights and deter problematic employers.
New Delhi, Jan 23/Nationalturk – In a good news for labour class, the labour laws in China have got a new teeth and it is likely to protect labour rights and deter problematic employers.
According to Chinese newspaper, Global Times, country’s Supreme People’s Court released a judicial explanation on the circumstances under which failure to recompense workers constitutes a crime.
Based on the eighth amendment of the Criminal Law, introduced in 2011, the judicial explanation specified that employers, who deliberately evade or refuse an individual worker three months of wages worth between 5,000 to 20,000 yuan ($804 to $3,216) or at least 10 workers more than 30,000 to 100,000 yuan, will be ordered to pay by labour administrative agencies or judicial organs. “Those who still fail to pay may be sentenced to up to three years in prison and be severely fined.”
The law further stated that if misconduct causes serious consequences, the sentence will be increased by up to seven years and fines.
“The new explanation will strengthen the legal power of workers by providing clear definitions and including more forms of misconduct that were not considered a crime before,” said Yan Heyu, a Beijing-based lawyer specializing in labour disputes.
New law have several highlights
He said the new law had several highlights. “Now the bonus, allowance and overtime payment has been counted as labour payment. The tampering with payment related documents including rosters and wage records will also be counted as ‘evading payment’. Besides, violent treatment or threats to workers who ask for payment will also be taken as serious consequences.”
According to China’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, labor security and monitoring agencies across the country handled 218,000 payment delay cases in 2012 and got 20 billion yuan of wages back for over 6.2 million workers. “However, these workers made up only a fraction of the whole, as many migrants have limited access to legal aid, and the official arbitrary procedures go on for long time”.
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Faiz Ahmad / NationalTurk Asia News
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