National Guidelines in China - Working Conditions

Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Ministry of Public Security and All-China Federation of Trade Unions

Notice of the Ministry of Labour, the Ministry of Public Security and the All-China Federation of Trade Unions Concerning Strengthening Labour Management in Foreign Investment Enterprises and Private Enterprises and the Effective Safeguarding of the Legal Rights and Interests of Employees of 4 March 1994

Addressed to labour personnel, departments, public security departments and all trade union federations of the various provinces, autonomous regions and directly administered municipalities, this Notice aims at:

1. strengthening the management of enterprise labour;
2. redressing behaviour which is in violation of labour laws and regulations; and,
3. protecting the legal rights and interests of enterprise workers.

The obligations of these enterprises include that they must not recruit female labour for posts where prohibited (paragraph 1). They must also implement policies and regulations on social insurance and pay social insurance funds, notably for maternity (paragraph 5). Paragraph 6 underlines that the enterprises must strictly apply laws and regulations on labour protection for female workers and must improve their protection during menstruation, pregnancy, maternity leave and nursing periods.

Ministry of Labour

Circular of the Ministry of Labour on the Issuance of the Measures of Administrative Punishment for the Violation of the Labour Law of the People’s Republic of China (LMI No. 532) of 26 December 1994

The aim of this Circular is to ensure the implementation of labour law and to punish its violations (article 1). The labour administrative departments of the people’s governments at or above the county level must supervise and inspect the implementation of laws, rules and regulations on labour by enterprises and individual economic organisations (article 2).

In addition to the necessary corrections, a fine of up to yuan 3,000 must be imposed on an employing unit which infringes upon the rights of female staff and workers by requiring them to:

• work down the pit of mines, in work with Grade IV physical labour intensity, or in "other work that female staff and workers should avoid";
• work high above the ground, under low temperature, in cold water, or perform work with Grade III physical labour intensity;
• during the period of breastfeeding their babies of less than one year of age, engage in work with Grade III physical labour intensity, "other labour that they should avoid during their breastfeeding period", to extend their working hours, or to work night shifts (article 12);
• perform work with Grade III physical labour intensity, or "other work that they should avoid in pregnancy"; or,
• perform any work after the seventh month of pregnancy, or to extend their working hours or require them to work night shifts (article 13).

Furthermore, where maternity leave for female staff and workers is less than 90 days due to the violation of an employing unit of the laws on labour protection, the employing unit must be ordered to make corrections within a fixed period of time. Where corrections are not made upon expiration of the period, a fine of up to yuan 3,000 must be imposed (article 14).