The latest draft of a law designed to bring ordinary workers under the protection of labour contracts was published yesterday for general comment.

According to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), the nation's top legislature, they will solicit comments for the draft of the labour contract law, which concerns the benefits of hundreds of millions labourers as well as their employers.

If enacted, the law will be the first in China that provides specific provisions on the establishment of work contracts, and is believed to promote a healthy flow of labour resources.

"The purpose of the law is to safeguard the legal rights and interest of labourers," said Rui Lixin, deputy director with the legal affairs department of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, at a press conference in Beijing yesterday.

He said the law urges a contract, mainly in written form, between workers and their employers, which is legally binding on both parties.

Currently, some employers, especially private enterprises, do not have any contract with their workers, which prevents workers from enjoying legitimate benefits and makes it difficult for them to seek judicial help when a dispute arises.

A recent survey by the NPC has found that only one in five private enterprises have signed job contracts with their employees.

In addition, employers are increasingly choosing to sign short-term, for instance one year, contracts with employees, and regulations for probation periods and penalties for breach of contract might be abused, Rui said.

"In recent years there is a noticeable imbalance of power between labourers and their employers," said Guo Jun, deputy director of the legislative affairs department of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions.

"In a market economy, employers are granted with enormous power while employees are placed in a relatively disadvantaged position," he said. "So the labour contract law needs to tilt more towards labourers to strike a balance between the two parties."

The draft will be printed in several newspapers of Chinese language today and the public can log on to the NPC's website or send letters to legislature departments to express their opinions before April 20.

Source: China Daily