Topic: International Labor Standards
Country: China
Delegate Name: Anna Slowik
School: Royal Oak High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All China position papers GLIMUN 2009 committees
Minimal standards in labor are a legitimate expectation for all nations of the world. Standards in labor help to ensure the wellbeing of the workforce and thus positively contribute to a nation’s productivity. Recently joining the World Trade Organization in 2001, The People’s Republic of China recognizes and acknowledges the need for labor standards in Labor Law of the People’s Republic of China, implemented in 1995. This legislation covers labor contracts and collective contracts, working hours, rest and vacations, wages, occupational safety and health (OSH), special protection for female and juvenile workers, vocational training, social insurance and welfare, labor disputes, supervision and inspection, and legal responsibility.
Enforcement and upholding of these laws, though, has proven difficult. In a nation as productive and immense as the People’s Republic of China, enforcement of any law can prove to be a struggle. Problems facing the PRC regarding legal standards in labor include a weak ability to monitor working conditions and unaccented punishment for non-compliance, estranging gaps between labor laws and other relevant laws, and a low respect for the Labor Law of the People’s Republic of China, as it was passed by the Standing Committee, a lower level of legislature than the People’s congress.
To consider changes in the labor laws in china, and elaborate understanding of the issues at hand is required. For example, the role of the All-China Federation of Independent Trade Unions, which protects workers interests and rights needs to be examined, as it is sometimes scrutinized as it is concerned with getting workers back to work after a strike.
As the environment surrounding PRC’s labor laws is highly complex and interwoven between the various issues concerning labor laws, there is no obvious answer to the issues at hand.
