LABOR ISSUES AT THE NATIONAL PEOPLE'S CONGRESS

UNCLAS BEIJING 000682 DEPT PASS USTR FOR KARESH, STRATFORD, LEE LABOR FOR ILAB - LI, BRUMFELD AND LIPKE TREAS FOR OASIA/ISA USDOC FOR 4420/ITA/MAC/MCQUEEN AND DAS KASOFF E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ELAB ECON EFIN PGOV CH SUBJECT: LABOR ISSUES AT THE NATIONAL PEOPLE'S CONGRESS REF: A) Beijing 448 B) Beijing 484 C) Beijing 580 ¶1. Summary: Labor issues, especially unemployment, were a major theme of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and National People's Congress (NPC) meetings that began on March 3. Senior government officials cited a severe unemployment problem, with over 20 million rural migrant workers currently unemployed and 6.1 million university graduates about to enter a very weak employment market. Government leaders said they would continue to implement China's new Labor Contract Law (LCL),but that it may be necessary to reduce wages and working hours through the LCL-mandated collective consultation process in order to preserve jobs in some enterprises. The government reaffirmed that its long-term industrial policy is to move away from labor- intensive industry. The All China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) is acting as an instrument of government policy, viewing its role as uniting the labor force behind the government and Communist Party, and has warned against activity that "in the name of rights protection," would "destroy the unity of migrant workers." End Summary. A SERIOUS UNEMPLOYMENT SITUATION -------------- ¶2. Yin Weimin, Minister of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS),described China's unemployment situation since the onset of the global financial crisis as "severe" at a March 10 press conference at the NPC, and said recovery is not yet evident. Yin said migrant workers from rural areas were the group most affected and he offered the following statistics: of 140 million rural migrants working in urban areas, about 50% (70 million) returned to their home towns before the Chinese New Year holiday in January. This was 10% higher than in normal years. After Chinese New Year, about 80 percent (56 million) of these workers set out again to seek wage employment in urban areas. Yin said about 45 million have found jobs, while 11 million remain unemployed. (Note: Depending on how one defines unemployment, this suggests a current unemployment rate for migrant workers of 25-35%, but government sources continue to cite 20-25 million as the estimated number of unemployed migrant workers. End note.) Yin also described the job market for college graduates as "grim" with 6.1 million new graduates about to join a weak job market, and reiterated policies the government is taking to promote graduate unemployment (ref A). ¶3. Yin said that January and February had seen a net 1% increase in urban job creation, but that is too soon to say whether this indicates a recovery. He noted the sharp net loss of urban job opportunities in October (by 840,000 positions),November (550,000 positions) and December (380,000 positions) and said that a MOHRSS survey of enterprises in 15 target cities found that 40% were reducing their workforce, suggesting a total reduction in urban job opportunities of about 5% in enterprises nationwide since the beginning of the 4th quarter of 2008. STICKING WITH THE LABOR CONTRACT LAW -------------- ¶4. In response to rising unemployment, the central government has reportedly given local labor bureaus flexibility not to enforce certain provisions of the year-old LCL if it will result in job loss (ref B). Labor bureaus are using article 41 of the LCL, which outlines procedures for handling mass lay-offs, to negotiate lower wages and working hours in troubled enterprises that agree not to lay-off their workers. At the March 10 NPC press conference, however, MOHRSS Minister Yin Weimin, denied that the government had relaxed enforcement of the Labor Contract Law or other labor regulations. He noted that MOHRSS and the NPC had each conducted separate studies of the implementation of the Labor Contract Law and found that it has effectively improved the protection of workers' rights. ¶5. Since the concurrent CPPCC and NPC meetings began on March 3, several other senior government officials have vigorously defended the LCL. NPC Secretary General and Chair of the NPC Foreign Affairs Committee, Li Zhaoxing told the press on March 4 that the global financial crisis, not the LCL was responsible for the difficulties some Chinese employers now face, and that full implementation of the LCL was the right long-term strategy to protect workers interests. Xin Chunying, Deputy Director of the NPC Standing Committee's Legislative Affairs Commission, quashed speculation at a March 9 NPC press conference that the NPC may revise or repeal the LCL. ¶6. Zhang Mingqi, Vice-Chairman of the ACFTU also noted at a separate NPC press conference on March 9 that the LCL, had had a positive effect in preserving jobs in troubled enterprises. Zhang also said that the ACFTU opposed the idea of lowering or eliminating minimum wages, noting that the minimum wage is intended to guarantee a basic livelihood. Eliminating the minimum wage, he said, would not solve the problems of troubled employers, but would create new problems for workers. NOT RETHINKING ECONOMIC POLICY -------------- ¶7. At the March 10 NPC press conference, journalists asked Minister of Industry Information and Technology (MIIT) Li Yizhong whether the government is reconsidering its policy to move China away from labor-intensive industries. Li acknowledged, that in the near term, the government is concerned about the closure of large numbers of labor-intensive, export-oriented enterprises. He noted that 7.5% of small and medium-sized enterprises in China's export-oriented coastal regions had either suspended production or gone out of business since the global financial crisis began. But Li denied that the government had changed its policies to promote the transition to higher-value added industries and services. ¶8. Li said the government's policy was to ensure continued industrial growth and protect jobs. He referred to portions of the Government Work Report, delivered by Premier Wen Jiabao on March 4 (ref C) that called for industrial consolidation to absorb troubled enterprises. (Note: The Work Report itself also states that "no government investment will be made in the regular processing industries" and that "we need to support non-governmental investment in areas favored by state industrial policies and encourage enterprises to increase spending on research and development and technological upgrading..."). ¶9. ACFTU Vice-Chairman Zhang Mingqi also responded to press inquiries about industrial policy. At the ACFTU's March 9 NPC press conference, Zhang said the ACFTU supports policies to upgrade industry, such as Guangdong Province's Double Transfer Policy, but that employers should either provide training to workers so that they can keep their jobs through the industrial transformation, or compensate workers who lose their jobs. GOVERNMENT INTERVENES IN INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS -------------- ¶10. As a matter of policy, the government is now using its power to regulate labor relations to preserve jobs, even if it means reducing wages or working hours (ref B). The Government Work Report addressed this point clearly, stating that the government will "help enterprises that are in difficulties to prevent layoffs by renegotiating wage levels with their employees, adopting flexible employment and work hours, or providing job training for them." MOHRSS Minister Yin Weimin explained at the NPC press conference on March 10 that this is consistent with the LCL. The global financial crisis, he said, presented new problems in implementing the LCL. While "we must implement the Law in a fair and comprehensive way, we must also address the difficulties our businesses face." ¶11. The ACFTU is playing its part in carrying out this government policy. Zhang Jianguo, Director of the ACFTU's Collective Contracts Department, told participants in the ACFTU's March 9 NPC press conference that the global financial crisis has caused great hardship, but that the LCL's provisions regarding consultations on mass layoffs provide a way to deal with this hardship. Zhang Jianguo said it may be necessary to discuss wages to keep some employers in business. ACFTU Vice-Chairman Zhang Mingqi said consultation on wages at troubled enterprises was a core feature of the ACFTU's new "Common Agreement Campaign" (ref B),and that in many cases, these consultations have resulted in agreements not to cut staff or wages. THE ROLE OF THE ACFTU -------------- ¶12. The ACFTU, which is accountable to the Communist Party, not to its members, and has no elected leadership, is acting as an instrument of government policy. According to knowledgeable Embassy contacts, these policies were coordinated in late 2008 through the national Tripartite Commission on Labor Relations. Through the "Common Agreement Campaign," the ACFTU is playing an active role, mostly in state-owned enterprises, negotiating or renegotiating collective contracts that seek to balance the interests of employers and employees and prevent job loss. The ACFTU is also using its own resources to provide vocational training, legal assistance, small business loans and economic subsistence benefits to unemployed migrant workers. ¶13. At its March 9 NPC press conference, ACFTU also trumpeted a campaign entitled "In the Same Boat, Helping Each Other to Maintain Economic Growth and Foster Social Development," which consists of work skills competitions and other social activities to raise awareness about the need to increase labor productivity to prevent job loss during difficult economic times. ACFTU Vice-Chairman Zhang Mingqi justified the ACFTU's role, noting that the ACFTU's constitutional mandate was to maintain unity in China's labor force. Zhang Mingqi went on to add that "there are some people who, in the name of rights protection, will seek to destroy the unity of migrant workers. We oppose this kind of behavior, and remind all of our unions to be vigilant against this danger." PICCUTA