The new "Law on Mediation and Arbitration of Labor Disputes" will come into effect on May 1st this year. The new law will mainly address issues such as the complex litigation procedures and long litigation times for labor dispute cases, and is considered another law that "leans towards protecting workers" after the new "Labor Contract Law."
What changes will the new law bring to the rights protection operations for ordinary workers facing labor disputes? Our newspaper invited Liu Xi, deputy director of the Arbitration Department of the Municipal Labor and Social Security Bureau, to interpret the new law clause by clause.
"Disputes arising from confirming labor relationships, working hours, rest and vacation, work-related medical expenses, economic compensation or damages" fall within the scope of arbitration mediation.
Legal provisions:
Article 2 of the "Law on Mediation and Arbitration of Labor Disputes": The following labor disputes occurring between employers and employees within the territory of the People's Republic of China shall be governed by this Law:
(1) Disputes arising from establishing labor relationships;
(2) Disputes arising from entering into, performing, amending, terminating, and ending labor contracts;
(3) Disputes arising from dismissal, layoff, resignation, and departure;
(4) Disputes arising from working hours, rest and vacation, social insurance, welfare, training, and labor protection;
(5) Disputes arising from labor remuneration, work-related medical expenses, economic compensation, or damages;
(6) Other labor disputes prescribed by laws and regulations.
Article 52: For staff members under the employment system in public institutions who have labor disputes with their units, this Law shall apply; if there are other provisions in laws, administrative regulations, or the State Council, those provisions shall apply.
Key changes:
As the content of labor disputes actually handled in practice becomes increasingly broad, the scope of acceptance stipulated in the original "Regulations on Handling Labor Disputes in Enterprises of the People's Republic of China" can no longer meet practical needs. According to Liu Xi's introduction, the new law has added five items, namely "disputes arising from confirming labor relationships," "disputes arising from working hours and rest and vacation, as well as disputes arising from work-related medical expenses, economic compensation, or damages." The old regulation's "disputes arising from wages" has been changed to "disputes arising from labor remuneration" in the new law.
The biggest change is the addition of "disputes arising from establishing labor relationships." This is closely related to the current situation in labor dispute handling practices where a large number of disputes arise due to not signing labor contracts, leading to differences over factual labor relationships.
In addition, the new law expands the arbitration acceptance scope to include "disputes arising from working hours and rest and vacation, as well as disputes arising from work-related medical expenses, economic compensation, or damages," making it more evident that the law aims to protect workers' interests.
The content of Article 52 corresponds with Articles 2 and 96 of the new "Labor Contract Law," incorporating labor disputes involving staff members under the employment system in public institutions within the scope of application of this law.
Background link:
In November 1950, the Ministry of Labor issued the "Provisions on the Procedures for Resolving Labor Disputes," which was regarded as the beginning of China's labor dispute handling system. Later, in 1956, the labor dispute handling system was temporarily suspended. In 1987, the State Council promulgated the "Interim Regulations on Handling Labor Disputes in State-Owned Enterprises," marking the revival of labor dispute handling work. In 1993, the State Council promulgated the "Regulations on Handling Labor Disputes in Enterprises of the People's Republic of China," which has been implemented until now. With the issuance of the "Regulations," the "Interim Regulations on Handling Labor Disputes in State-Owned Enterprises" was abolished.