Newsletter
PROVISIONS ON COLLECTIVE CONTRACTS ANNOUNCED
In order to regulate the negotiation and conclu-sion of employment contracts by collective bar-gaining between employers and employees, and to protect the lawful interests of both sides, on 20 January 2004 the PRC Ministry of Labor and Social Security issued new Provisions on Col-lective Contracts, which will take effect on 1 May 2004, replacing the old provisions.
Under the new provisions, an employer and its employees may conclude a collective contract to govern matters such as their remuneration, working hours, rest and holidays, health and safety at work, vocational training, and insurance and welfare, or they may conclude specific col-lective agreements to govern such matters indi-vidually. Parties should arrive at collective contracts and decide related matters by collective bargaining, which should mainly be conducted through bargaining meetings. The employer and the labor union should each appoint equal num-bers of representatives to conduct the collective bargaining (in the absence of a union, the em-ployee representatives should be nominated by employees and approved by a majority of em-ployees). There should be at least three repre-sentatives on each side, and each side should appoint a lead representative.
The final draft of a general or specific collective contract arrived at by collective bargaining should be presented for discussion to a meeting of employees' representatives or of all employees, and may be approved only by consent of a ma-jority of all employees' representatives or of all employees. Such a contract is generally valid for one to three years, and may be extended. Within 10 days after a contract is signed by the lead representatives on both sides, the employer should submit it to the local labor and social security administration for review. If the ad-ministration raises no objection, the agreement can take effect. When the agreement takes effect, the employer should announce this to all em-ployees.
If during the collective bargaining process a dispute arises that the parties are unable to re-solve by negotiation, either or both parties may, in writing, petition the labor and social security administration to mediate. Even if the parties have not made such a request, the labor and so-cial security administration may intervene to mediate where necessary.