A relatively recent labour dispute resolution system that hasn’t dampened the number of ‘uncontrolled disputes’. Several official methods exist to solve conflicts in China. A labor dispute resolution system was first established in 1993, and then in 2008, the Labour Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Law further refined existing procedures and clearly defined the rights and duties of mediation and arbitration committees, and in line with the official goal of harmony the labor courts firmly placed the accent on mediation as the means for settling disputes (c.f. article No. 080985). This relatively recent system stems from the government’s economic reforms conducted during the 90s, when Communist China’s so-called ‘three old irons’* system was replaced by labor contracts emphasizing greater productivity and flexibility, and which gave management almost unlimited autonomy, particularly over employment relations (recruitment, employment termination, remuneration).
China: towards structural changes in collective dispute management?
When in Spring 2015, the Chinese government issued a directive demanding party cadres and bureaucrats across the country to “make the construction of harmonious labor relations an urgent priority,” to ensure “healthy economic development”, and to consolidate the party’s “governing status”, skepticism was the main reaction in the country and abroad, as the current system managing collective disputes has not been driven towards a balanced and harmonious approach.
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