INTERIM PROVISIONS FOR LABOUR AND WAGE
MANAGEMENT IN ENTERPRISES IN THE SPECIAL
ECONOMIC ZONES IN GUANGDONG PROVINCE

(Adopted by the 13th Session of the Standing Committee of the Fifth People's
Congressof Guangdong Province on November 17, 1981 and
Promulgated on December 24, 1981)

 

 

SUBJECT: LABOR & EMPLOYMENT

ISSUING-DEPT: GUANGDONG PROVINCE

ISSUE-DATE: 11/17/1981

IMPLEMENT-DATE: 01/01/1982

LENGTH: 1285 words

TEXT:

[Article 1] These Interim Provisions are formulated in accordance with the pertinent laws and decrees of the People's Republic of China and the Regulations on Special Economic Zones in Guangdong Province.

[Article 2] In employing staff and workers, foreign enterprises, Chinese-foreign joint ventures and cooperative enterprises in the special zones (hereafter referred to as "special zone enterprises") shall implement the contract system, and labour contracts shall be signed by the enterprises and their staff and workers.  The labour contracts shall include the following terms: the employment, dismissal and resignation of the staff and workers; their production and work tasks; labour service charges and provisions for awards and punishments; work schedules and holidays and paid leaves of absence; labour insurance and welfare benefits; labour protection; and labour discipline.

The labour contracts shall be submitted to the relevant special zone (municipal) labour bureau for approval.

[Article 3] In the Shenzhen Special Zone and the two municipalities of Zhuhai and Shantou, labour service companies shall be established, under the guidance of the special zone (municipal) labour bureau, to aid the special zone enterprises in recruiting and training staff and workers, to guide staff and workers seeking employment and to direct them in signing labour contracts with the enterprises.

[Article 4] The staff and workers to be employed by a special zone enterprise may, after the approval of the special zone (municipal) labour bureau, be recommended by the labour service company or recruited by the enterprise itself, and shall be tested and accepted for employment in accordance with the principle of selecting the best qualified.  The staff and workers accepted for employment may be given a three to six month probation period.

[Article 5] The staff and workers employed by special zone enterprises shall be 16 years of age or older.

[Article 6] A special zone enterprise shall manage the staff and workers it has employed in accordance with the provisions of the contracts and the business requirements of the enterprise.  The enterprise may establish skilled workers' schools and training courses for the training of managerial personnel and skilled workers.

[Article 7] Special zone enterprises shall pay a labour service charge for each of the staff and workers they employ.  The standards for the labour service charge shall be decided through discussion at the time the labour contracts are signed, according to the different types of enterprises and the different kinds of work, and the charge shall be increased at a rate of 5 to 15% per year, according to the degrees of technical proficiency of the staff and workers.

[Article 8] The labour service charge paid by the enterprises shall be apportioned as follows:

70% shall go to the staff and workers as wages (including basic and floating wages), to be paid directly to the staff and workers themselves;

5% shall be kept by the enterprise to subsidize the welfare fund for the staff and workers; and

25% shall be used for social labour insurance and as compensation for the various kinds of subsidies which the State provides to the staff and workers.

[Article 9] The types of wages and systems of bonuses, subsidies, etc. for staff and workers of a special zone enterprise shall be decided upon by the enterprise itself.  As to the types of wages, depending on the business requirements of the enterprise, it may adopt a piece-wage system or a system of wages calculated by the hour, the day or the month.

[Article 10] Special zone enterprises shall implement a system of a six working-day week and an eight working-hour day.  (The work schedule for special types of work shall be stipulated separately.) Overtime shall be paid accordingly.

[Article 11] Staff and workers of special zone enterprises shall enjoy the rest days provided for by our country, official holidays and leaves to visit relatives, for marriage and funerals, etc., as well as other rights and interests clearly stipulated in the labour contracts.

[Article 12] Special zone enterprises must implement the rules and regulations of the Government of the People's Republic of China concerning labour protection and environmental protection, and ensure safety in production and civilized production.  The competent department concerned in the special zones shall have the right to carry out inspection and supervision.

[Article 13] Special zone enterprises shall implement special health protection for women workers in accordance with the provisions of the People's Republic of China concerning the protection of women workers.

[Article 14] When staff and workers of special zone enterprises suffer work-related injuries, including those causing disability or death, the enterprises shall handle the matter in accordance with the pertinent provisions on labour insurance of the People's Republic of China.

[Article 15] Staff and workers of a special zone enterprise, due to special circumstances, may submit their resignations to the enterprise and the enterprise shall permit such resignations.  Those staff and workers who have received more than three months' training provided by the enterprise shall not be allowed to resign within one year after the completion of the training; if they insist on resigning or resign without permission, they shall make compensation for the expenses the enterprise has incurred for their training.

[Article 16] A special zone enterprise may dismiss staff and workers who become superfluous as a result of changes in production and technical conditions if, after training, they cannot meet its requirements and they are not suitable for transfer to other work within such enterprise.  The enterprise shall pay the dismissed staff and workers who have worked for one year or more, according to the length of work in the enterprise, one month's basic wage for each full year's work; it shall pay one month's basic wage to those who have worked for less than a year and one-half of one month's basic wage to probationary staff and workers.

[Article 17] A special zone enterprise may, in accordance with the seriousness of the case, impose the sanctions of warnings, demerits, wage reductions or even discharge against staff and workers who violate the rules and regulations of the enterprise and thereby cause harmful consequences.  The decision to impose the sanction of discharge against personnel shall be reported to the special zone (municipal) labour bureau for examination and reference.

[Article 18] If staff or workers who have been dismissed or given other sanctions by a special zone enterprise object to the said sanction, they may propose to the enterprise that the matter be resolved through consultation; if the matter cannot be resolved through consultation, they may request arbitration by the special zone (municipal) labour bureau; if either of the parties considers the arbitration by the labour bureau to be unreasonable, it may file a suit in the local people's court in the special zone.

[Article 19] Matters such as the employment, dismissal, resignation, pay, awards and punishment, welfare and social insurance for foreign staff and workers of a special zone enterprise, and for staff and workers from Hongkong, Macao and Taiwan, shall be decided by the board of directors of the enterprise and shall be separately provided for in the employment contracts.

[Article 20] These Interim Provisions shall come into force on January 1, 1982.