Pudong to move on labor disputes

By Liang Yiwen  |   2008-10-30  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

PUDONG New Area government will take action over an increasing number of labor disputes to guarantee the effective implementation of the Labor Contract Law, said officials with the Pudong Labor and Social Security Bureau.

A study by the bureau into the effect of the new law which took effect on January 1 found an increase in the number of labor disputes.

The study was revealed at the 17th meeting of the standing committee of the Pudong New Area People's Congress on Monday. It found labor dispute arbitration institutions in the new area received 3,407 cases in the first half of the year, up 182.3 percent on the same period last year.

The increase in labor disputes was largely focused on pay, termination compensation, and resumption of labor relations.

Wang Jiazhen, director of Pudong Labor and Social Security Bureau, said new rights of workers under the Labor Contract Law, the improved awareness of worker rights, and the improper inner management of some enterprises accounted for the increase.

The study also found some enterprises had become unwilling to hire new people due to the increase in employment and management costs brought by the law as well as the impact of the global economic crisis.

The bureau said they would launch more activities to promote company awareness and implementation of the law.

And they would strive to create 65,000 new posts and control the unemployed population in the area to within 40,000 for the year.

They also released a plan to encourage 4,000 citizens to start an enterprise and employ as many as 10,000 people.