Since 2012 social unrest has been growing apace in Guangdong province. China’s manufacturing heartland employs more than 30 million. The government has had to respond to this, and with the provincial legislator has designed a legislative framework. Following three readings in the provincial Assembly over a period spanning two years, the new regulation covering collective agreements was finally adopted at the end of September 2014. It came into force on January 01, 2015 and replaces the former 1996 legislation that had been seen as too vague. By Aiqing Zheng, Associate Professor, Legal department Renmin University of China.
The right to claim recognized negotiation. Overall and in spite of certain details, the new regulation, itself a result of compromises, makes but hesitant steps forward. Hong Kong based entrepreneurs were fiercely opposed to the whole process up to and including its adoption. The most significant novelty is the confirmation of the right for employees to call for collective consultation (this term is employed because it sounds less confrontational to employers and employees). Similarly the right to for management to call collective consultations is also recognized.
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