Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2022, published 111st ILC session (2023)

Labour Administration Convention, 1978 (No. 150) - China (Ratification: 2002)

Other comments on C150

Observation

2010

Direct Request

2022
2014
2010
2005

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Articles 1 and 4 of the Convention. Effective operation of a system of labour administration. Occupational safety and health (OSH). Following its previous comment, the Committee notes that the Ministry of Emergency Management (MoEM) is in charge of the comprehensive supervision and management of work safety. The Committee also notes that the Work Safety Enforcement, Industrial and Trade Safety Supervision Authority, and the State Mining Safety Inspection Bureau, under the MoEM, are respectively responsible for industry, commerce and mining. The Department of Occupational Health under the National Health Commission is responsible in the field of occupational health. The Committee also notes the Government’s reference to the Safety Production Committee of the State Council established in 2003 as the coordinating mechanism on work safety, of which the main responsibility is to analyse the national situation concerning OSH, develop major guidelines and policies and coordinate the work of different governmental agencies in this regard. In January 2021, the Safety Production Committee issued a notice on the distribution of duties of member agencies of the Work Safety Committee. Accordingly, the MoEM oversees the compliance of laws and regulations in work safety, including the formulation of relevant rules and standards, the provision of advice to enterprises and other entities and the conduct of inspection activities. The duties of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MoHRSS) include the management of occupational injury insurance, the provision of trainings on OSH to employees in public sector and development of rules and policies relating to the professional qualification in the field of work safety. Other governmental agencies and organizations involved in OSH matters include the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Ministry of Commerce, and the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU). The Committee requests the Government to provide more detailed information on the functioning of the Work Safety Committee of the State Council in relation to activities facilitating the cooperation between different governmental agencies, such as consultative meetings, information sharing and joint inspection actions.

Articles 6(1) and 10. Bodies responsible for the preparation and implementation of laws and regulations giving effect to national labour policy. Human resources and material mean necessary for the operation of the labour administration system. Labour Inspection. The Committee notes that in reply to its previous comment, the Government indicates that the administrative departments of human resources and social security at all levels perform labour inspections and strengthen the prevention of illegal acts. Both the target of the inspection activity and the inspector in charge are randomly selected. The results of such inspection are accessible to the public. Measures are also taken to ensure the coordination of the labour inspection bureau of different provinces and the cooperation with the criminal justice authorities. Moreover, a number of compliance mechanisms are established, including the grading system of labour law compliance and the publication system of major violations, including serious wage arrears. The Government indicates that the Twin Networks Management system is strengthened through improved division of grids and information collection, as well as the deployment of assistant coordinators. Labour inspections have been turned from being passive and reactive to active and preventive, and monitoring coverage is expanded to all types of employers in both urban and rural areas. By the end of 2021, there were 27,700 full-time labour inspectors in 4,001 labour inspection offices, with 1,163,000 employers actively inspected and 106,000 cases of violations detected. According to the Measures for the Administration of Labour Inspectors, the training of labour and social security supervisors is included in the civil servant training plan of the human resources and social security departments and is implemented in accordance with the relevant civil servant training regulations. Labour inspectors go through an examination and verification system every three years. If they fail the examination and verification according to the regulations, or are found incompetent after examination, their labour inspector certificates are cancelled. In addition, human resources and social security departments at all levels establish a training system for labour inspectors, formulate training plans and organize training sessions in accordance with the skills required for their position, in order to continuously improve the quality of inspection work. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide detailed information on the activities of the labour supervision bureau, including the number of inspections carried out, violations detected, and sanctions imposed. It also requests the Government to continue to provide information on the staff of the labour supervision bureau and the distribution of these staff, as well as on the training activities provided to them during their employment, including the frequency and the contents of such training.

Article 6(2)(b). Review of the situation of employed, unemployed and under-employed persons. Internal migrant workers. Following its previous comment, the Committee notes the Government’s information on the activities carried out to improve the working and living conditions of internal migrant workers. Targeted skill trainings were organized in order to upgrade their employment and entrepreneurial ability. The Government indicates that the scale of migrant workers' participation in social insurance schemes continues to expand, and that insurance against injury at work for migrant workers in the field of construction basically achieves full coverage. Moreover, the Regulation to protect wage payment of migrant workers was adopted in 2019. In addition, the reform of the household registration system facilitates the settlement of migrant workers in urban areas, with improved public service in education, housing and healthcare. The Committee also notes the statistical information provided by the Government, according to which, the number of migrant workers reached 293 million in 2021, an increase of 18.56 million from 2014. In 2021, the average monthly income of migrant workers reached RMB 4,432, which represent an increase of RMB 1,568 from 2014. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the review of the situation of internal migrant workers, as well as the measures undertaken or envisaged to improve their working conditions.

Article 6(2)(c). Services available to employers and workers. The Committee notes the Government’s reply to its previous comment that the public employment service system covers both urban and rural areas, providing policy consultation, information sharing, vocational training, job placement and guidance for job hunting and entrepreneurship to all types of workers without charge, as well as recruitment services to employers. Measures are also taken to improve the service quality, including the simplification of procedures, the provision of online services and the establishment of a unified national information-sharing platform. The enhanced inter-regional recruitment cooperation promotes labour mobility and improves the labour force allocation. Moreover, assistance is provided to people with employment difficulties, such as tax and fee reductions, loan subsides, social insurance subsides and allowance for job placement. Welfare jobs are provided if no employment is available on the labour market. Regarding labour dispute mediation and arbitration, from 2016 to 2020, arbitration committees at all levels treated about 5.583 million disputes, involving 5.758 million workers. The rate of cases closed by arbitration increased from 53.1% in 2015 to 70.5% in 2020. Moreover, a number of normative documents were issued jointly by the MoHRSS and the Supreme Court, in order to facilitate the transfer and connection of cases between arbitration and litigation. The Committee takes note of the Government’s information which addresses its previous request.

Article 7. Gradual extension of the labour administration system. Following its previous comment, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that the labour administration system covers all types of workers, including agricultural workers and self-employed workers. In addition to the Regulation to protect wage payment of migrant workers adopted in 2019, the MoHRSS issued Interim Measures for the management of the list of employers failing to pay wages to migrant workers in 2021. Moreover, guidelines for protecting labour rights of workers under new forms of employment (including those working in the platform economy) was jointly developed and published in 2021 by the MoHRSS, the ACFTU and the Supreme Court, among others. The Committee notes the Government’s information which addresses its previous request.

Article 9. Supervision of parastatal and regional or local agencies to which particular labour administration activities have been delegated. Following its previous comment, the Committee notes the Government’s indication regarding the functions of a number of parastatal agencies under the supervision of the MoHRSS. According to the Government, the Social Insurance Business Management Centre is a Ministry-affiliated institution responsible for the comprehensive management of social insurance administration such as pensions, unemployment insurance and work injury insurance nationwide. The China Centre of Technical Guidance for Employment and Training is responsible for the technical guidance of employment and vocational training. The China Academy of Personnel Science and the China Academy of Labour and Social Security Sciences are research institutes and do not perform any administrative functions. The International Exchange Service Centre and the Service Centre for Overseas Students and Experts are both directly managed by the MoHRSS and do not have administrative functions. The Committee notes the Government’s information which addresses its previous request.