In both China and Japan, the long and mostly unpaid overtime hours that have traditionally been commonplace in the tech industry are no longer a given. In China, a joint directive from the Supreme People's Court and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security has taken aim at institutionalised overtime. In Japan, meanwhile, despite modernised legislation on working patterns passed in June 2018, including efforts to tackle the issue of excessive working hours, the trend in tech is towards renewed unionisation among white-collar workers who feel more vulnerable than ever, and whose fears extend beyond overwork.
Warning. The notice issued by China’s highest court on 26 August details 10 relatively common labour disputes and serves as a warning to employers of their obligation to comply with labour laws. Although none of the companies in question were named, one of the cases involved a courier company that fired an employee who explicitly refused to work the so-called “996” schedule (working 9am until 9pm six days a week). A labour arbitration board concluded that the company had violated labour...
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