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Adopted on April 3, 1992 at the 5th Session of the 7th National People's
Congress
Amended according to the Decision on Amending the Trade Union Law of the
People's Republic of China at the 24th Session of the Standing Committee of
the 9th National People's Congress on October 27, 2001
Chapter I General Provisions
Chapter II Trade Union
Organizations
Chapter III Rights and Obligations of a Trade
Union
Chapter IV Basic-level Trade Union Organizations
Chapter V Trade Union Funds and Assets
Chapter VI Legal
Responsibilities
Chapter VII Supplementary Provisions
Chapter I
General Provisions
Article 1 This Law is formulated in accordance with the Constitution to
protect the position of
trade unions in State political, economic and social life, to clarify the
rights and obligations of
trade unions and to enable them to play their proper role in the development
of China's socialist
modernization.
Article 2 Trade unions are mass organizations formed by the working classes
of their own free will.
The All-China Federation of Trade Unions and all of its trade union
organizations shall represent
the interests of the employees and protect the legal rights and interests of
the employees.
Article 3 All laborers doing physical or mental work in enterprises, public
institutions and
government organs within Chinese territory who earn their living primarily
from wages shall have the
right to participate in and form trade union organizations pursuant to the
law, regardless of their
nationalities, races, sexes, occupations, religious beliefs or educations.
No organization or
individual may hinder them from doing so or restrict them.
Article 4 Trade unions must abide by and safeguard the Constitution and use
the Constitution as the
standard for their basic activities, focus on the economic development,
adhere to the socialist road
and people's democratic dictatorship, insist on the leadership of the
Chinese Communist Party and
the guidance of Marxism Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought and Deng Xiaoping
Theory, and persevere in reform and opening to the outside world, and the
trade union work shall be carried out independently and voluntarily in
accordance with the Constitution of Trade Unions.
The trade union national representative assembly shall formulate or amend
the Constitution of the
All-China Federation of Trade Unions, which shall not be in conflict in any
way with China's
Constitution and laws.
The State shall protect the legal rights and interests of trade unions and
any infringement of these
rights and interests shall be prohibited.
Article 5 Trade unions shall organize and educate employees to exercise
their democratic rights
pursuant to the provisions of China's Constitution and laws, to play their
role as the nation's
master, participate through various channels and formats in the management
of national affairs,
economic and cultural institutions and social matters, assist the people's
governments in their
work, uphold the leadership or the working classes and support the
worker-peasant alliance which
forms the basis of the people's democratic dictatorship of socialist state
power.
Article 6 The basic function and duty of the trade unions is to safeguard
the legal rights and
interests of the employees. While upholding the overall rights and interests
of the whole nation,
trade unions shall, at the same time, represent and safeguard the rights and
interests of employees.
Trade unions shall coordinate the labor relations and safeguard the labor
rights and interests of
the enterprise employees through equal negotiation and collective contract
system.
Trade unions shall, in accordance with legal provisions, organize the
employees to participate in
the democratic decision-making, democratic management and democratic
supervision of their respective units through the employee representative
assembly or other forms.
A trade union must liaise closely with employees, listen to and reflect
their views and requirements, care for their livelihood, assist them in
overcoming difficulties and serve them wholeheartedly.
Article 7 A trade union shall mobilize and organize the employees to
participate in the economic
development actively, and to complete the production and work assignments
conscientiously, educate
the employees to improve their ideological thoughts and ethics,
technological and professional,
scientific and cultural qualities, and build a employee team with ideals,
ethics, education and
discipline.
Article 8 The All-China Federation of Trade Unions shall, in accordance with
the principles of
independence, equality, mutual respect and mutual non-interference in
internal affairs, improve the
relations of friendly cooperation with the trade union organizations of
various other nations.
Chapter II Trade Union Organizations
Article 9 Trade union organizations at all levels shall be established in
accordance with the
principle of democratic centralism.
Trade union committees at all levels shall be elected by their general
assemblies or representative
assemblies. The close relatives of the major principals of an enterprise may
not be elected as the
members of the basic-level trade union committee of that enterprise.
Trade union committees at all levels shall be responsible to and shall
submit work reports to
general assemblies or representative assemblies at their respective levels
and shall be subject to
their supervision.
Trade union general assemblies and representative assemblies shall have the
right to change or
dismiss their elected representatives or committee members.
Trade union organizations at the higher level shall lead the trade union
organizations at the lower
level.
Article 10 The trade union of an enterprise, public institution or
government organ with 25 or more
members shall establish a basic-level trade union committee; if the members
are less than 25, a
basic-level trade union committee may be established separately, or a
basic-level trade union
committee be established by the members of 2 units or more, or may an
organizer be elected to
organize activities for the members. If the number of female employee is
relatively large, a trade
union committee for female employees may be established under the leadership
of the equivalent level
trade union; if the number of female employee is relatively small, female
employee member shall be
included in the trade union committee.
The towns and townships, and urban districts with a relatively large number
of enterprise employees
may establish the association of basic-level trade unions.
A locality at county level or above shall establish a local all-level
federation of trade unions.
Several enterprises of the same industry or in industries of a similar
nature may establish a national or local specific industry trade union,
depending on their requirements.
The All-China Federation of Trade Unions shall operate uniformly at a
national level.
Article 11 The establishment of a basic-level trade union, local all-level
federation of trade
unions or a national or local specific industry trade union must be reported
to the trade union
organization at the next highest level for approval.
The trade unions at the higher level may assign personnel to assist the
direct the enterprises to
establish trade unions, no unit or individual may obstruct.
Article 12 No unit or individual may cancel or consolidate trade union
organizations.
If a basic-level trade union organization's enterprise terminates its
operations or its public
institution or state organ is cancelled, the said trade union organization
shall also be cancelled
and the case be reported to the trade union at the next higher level.
For the trade union cancelled according to the provisions of the preceding
paragraph, the membership
of its members may be reserved, and the specific management measures shall
be formulated by the
All-China Federation of Trade Unions.
Article 13 The trade union of an enterprise or public institution with 200
or more workers may
establish full-time trade union chairman. The number of the full-time
working personnel of the trade
union shall be determine by the union and the enterprise or public
institution through consultation.
Article 14 The All-China Federation of Trade Unions, local all-level
federations of trade unions and
specific industry trade unions shall have the legal person status of a
social group.
Basic-level trade union organizations meeting the legal person requirements
stipulated by the
General Principles of Civil Law shall be awarded the legal person status of
a social group pursuant
to the law.
Article 15 The terms of office of the basic-level trade union committee
shall be three or five years
each. The terms of office of the committees of the local all-level
federations of trade unions and
of the specific industry trade unions shall be five years each.
Article 16 A basic-level trade union committee shall hold general assembly
or representative
assembly periodically to discuss and decide on the major issues of the trade
union work. The general
assembly or representative assembly may be held temporarily upon the
proposal of the basic-level
trade union committee or more than one third of the trade union members.
Article 17 During their terms of office, a trade union chairman and deputy
chairman shall not be
arbitrarily transferred to other positions. When indeed necessary, approval
shall be obtained from
the respective level trade union committee and higher level trade union.
General assembly or representative assembly must be held to discuss the
dismissal of the trade union
chairman or deputy chairman, and the chairman and deputy chairman may not be
dismissed unless all
members of the general assembly or half the representatives of the
representative assembly approve
the dismissal.
Article 18 From the day on which the full-time chairman, deputy chairman or
the committee members
take their posts, the periods of their labor contracts shall be extended
automatically, the periods
extended shall be equal to their respective terms of office; if the
unfulfilled labor contract
periods of the non-full-time chairman, deputy chairman or the committee
members are shorter than
their respective terms of office, the labor contract periods shall be
extended until their terms of
office expire. But those committing serious negligence or reaching the
lawful age for retirement are
exceptional.
Chapter III Rights and
Obligations of a Trade Union
Article 19 If an enterprise or public institution violates the provisions of
the employee
representative assembly system or other democratic management systems, the
trade union of the said
unit shall have the right to request corrections and ensure that the
employees exercise their rights
to democratic management pursuant to the law.
The enterprise or public institution shall handle pursuant to law the
matters that shall be
submitted to the employee assembly or employee representative assembly for
deliberation, approval
and decision provided for by laws and regulations.
Article 20 A trade union shall assist and provide guidance to employees in
signing labor contracts
with an enterprise or a public institution managed as an enterprise.
A trade union shall represent employees in equal negotiation and signing a
collective contract with
an enterprise or a public institution managed as an enterprise. The draft of
a collective contract
shall be submitted to the employee representatives or the complete body of
employees for discussion
and adoption.
The trade union at the next higher level shall support and assist the trade
union in signing the
collective contract.
If the enterprise violates the collective contract and infringes upon the
rights and interests of
the employees, the trade union may ask the enterprise to bear liabilities
according to law; if the
dispute over the performance of the collective contract can't be settled
through consultation, the
trade union may submit it to the arbitral agency of labor dispute for
arbitration, if the arbitral
agency refuses to accept the case or the trade union refuses to accept the
finding of arbitration, a
lawsuit may be brought before a people's court.
Article 21 A trade union which believes that an enterprise's or a public
institution's punishment on
an employee is inappropriate shall have the right to put forward its views
on the matter.
When unilaterally canceling the labor contract with an employee, the
enterprise shall notify the
trade union of the reasons in advance, if the trade union regards that the
enterprise has violated
the laws, regulations and relevant contracts and requests that the case be
reinvestigated and dealt
with anew, the enterprise shall deliberate the views of the trade union and
notify the trade union
of the handling result in written form.
The trade union shall support and assist the employee who thinks that the
enterprise has infringed
upon his/her labor rights and interests, and applies for arbitration of
labor dispute or brings a
lawsuit before a people's court.
Article 22 If an enterprise or public institution has, in violation of the
provisions of labor laws
and regulations, infringed, as follows, upon the labor rights and interests
of the employees, the
trade union shall represent the employees to negotiate with the enterprise
or public institution and
request the enterprise or public institution to take measures for
corrections; the enterprise or
public institution shall deliberate and handle the case, and reply to the
trade union; if the
enterprise or public institution refuses to make corrections, the trade
union may ask the local
people's government to handle the case according to law:
1) pocketing part of the employees' wages;
2) failing to provide labor safety and health conditions;
3) extending the labor time arbitrarily;
4) infringing upon the special rights and interests of female employees and
underage employees; and
5) other serious infringement upon the labor rights and interests of the
employees.
Article 23 A trade union shall, pursuant to State regulations, supervise the
concurrent design,
concurrent construction, and concurrent use of the work conditions, and the
safety and hygiene
facilities of the main part of the project of a newly constructed or
expanded enterprise or of an
undergoing technological transformation. The said enterprise or its
department in charge shall
conscientiously deal with the views put forward by the trade union and shall
notify the trade union
of the outcome in written form.
Article 24 If a trade union discovers that an enterprise is breaking rules
and regulations by
directing or forcing workers to take risks or if distinct and significant
hidden dangers or
occupational hazards are discovered during the production process, the trade
union shall have the
right to suggest a resolution, and the enterprise shall study the problem
and make a reply promptly;
on discovering a situation where the personal safety of workers is
jeopardized, a trade union shall
have the right to suggest to the enterprise that the workers abandon the
dangerous site and the said
enterprise must decide promptly on the measures to resolve the matter.
Article 25 A trade union shall have the right to investigate into the issues
of the infringement
upon the legal rights and interests of the employees committed by the
enterprise or public
institution, and the units concerned shall give assistance.
Article 26 It is necessary that a trade union take part in the investigation
and handling of an
job-related accident resulting in a fatality or injury or other problems
seriously endangering the
health of employees. The trade union shall suggest resolutions to the
relevant authorities and have
the right to require the pursuit of the liability of personnel in charge
held directly responsible
and other responsible parties. The resolutions suggested by the trade union
shall be studied and
replied promptly.
Article 27 If an enterprise or public institution is subject to stop work or
slow down measures, the
trade union shall represent the employees to negotiate with the enterprise,
public institution or
other relevant authorities, make known the employees' views and requirements
and propose
resolutions. The enterprise or public institution shall meet the reasonable
requirements raised by
the employees. And the trade union shall assist the enterprise or public
institution in its work so
as to enable the normal production process to be resumed as quickly as
possible.
Article 28 A trade union shall participate in the mediation in relation to
labor disputes within its
enterprise.
Equivalent level trade union representatives shall participate in district
labor dispute arbitration
organizations.
Article 29 Trade union federations at the county level or above may provide
their affiliated trade
unions and employees with legal services.
Article 30 Trade unions shall assist the enterprises, public institutions
and government organs in
organizing employee collective welfare matters and wage, labor safety and
hygiene and social
insurance work.
Article 31 Trade unions shall, in conjunction with the enterprises and
public institutions, educate
the employees to adopt the attitude towards labor as the nation's master, to
take good care of the
properties of the State and of the enterprises, shall organize the employees
to develop mass
rationalization proposal and technological innovation activities, to
undertake after-hours cultural
and technical studies and occupational training, and shall organize the
employees to develop
recreational and sports activities.
Article 32 According to the entrustment of the governments, the trade unions
shall, in conjunction
with the relevant authorities, do a good job in the selection, commendation,
fostering and
management of the model workers and advanced labors (workers)
Article 33 The state organs shall listen to the view of the trade unions
when drafting or amending
the laws, statutory rules and regulations directly involving the rights and
interests of the employees.
The people's governments at the level of county or above shall, when
formulating the national
economic and social development plans, listen to the views of the equivalent
level trade unions on
the important issues involving the rights and interests of the employees.
When the people's governments at the county level or above and their
relevant authorities formulate
important policies or measures on employment, wage, labor safety and
hygiene, social insurance, etc,
the equivalent level trade unions shall be invited to participate in the
research work and the views
of the said trade unions shall be taken into consideration.
Article 34 The people's governments at the county level or above may hold
meetings or adopt
appropriate methods to report the respective governments' important work
plans and administrative
measures relating to trade union work to their equivalent level trade unions
and shall study and
determine the ways of handling the suggestions and requests of the working
masses reflected through
the trade unions.
The administrative departments of labor of all levels of people's
governments shall, in conjunction
with the representatives of their equivalent level trade unions and the
enterprises, establish the
trilateral negotiation system to jointly study and solve the major problems
relating to labor
relations.
Chapter IV Basic-level
Trade Union Organizations
Article 35 The employee representative assembly of a state-owned enterprise
shall be the basic-level
structure through which the enterprise executes democratic management as it
is the body through
which the employees may exercise their rights to democratic management in
accordance with the legal
provisions.
The trade union committee of a state-owned enterprise shall be the working
body of the employee
representative assembly and shall be responsible for the daily affairs of
the employee
representative assembly and for inspecting and supervising the
implementation of resolutions of the
employee representative assembly.
Article 36 The trade union committee of a collective enterprise shall
support and organize the
employees' participation in democratic management and democratic supervision
and shall safeguard the
rights of employees to elect and dismiss administrative personnel and to
determine important issues
relating to operational management.
Article 37 The trade union committees of the enterprises and institutions
apart from those provided
for in Article 35 and Article 36 of this Law shall organize the employees'
participation in the
democratic management of the enterprises and public institutions through the
corresponding methods
of the enterprises and public institutions according to the legal
provisions.
Article 38 Enterprises and public institutions shall listen to the views of
the trade unions when
studying the important issues relating to the operational management and
development; and the
participation of trade union representatives is necessary in the meetings
convened to discuss
matters, such as wages, welfare, labor safety and hygiene, and social
insurance, which involve the
personal rights and interests of the employees.
The enterprises and public institutions shall support the trade unions in
carrying out their work
pursuant to the law and the trade unions shall support the enterprises and
public institutions in
exercising the right to operation and management pursuant to the law.
Article 39 The election of employee representatives from the board of
directors or board of
supervisors of an enterprise shall be subject to the relevant provisions of
the Company Law.
Article 40 A basic-level trade union committee convening a meeting or
organizing activities for
employees shall do so in time outside production or work hours. If it is
necessary to occupy
production or work hours, prior approval of the enterprise or public
institution shall be required.
If a non-full-time trade union committee member of the basic-level trade
union uses production or
work hours to participate in a union meeting or undertake the trade union
work not more than 3
workdays each month, the member's wages shall be issued as usual and other
benefits shall not be
affected.
Article 41 The full-time working personnel of the trade union committees of
enterprises, public
institutions or government organs shall have their wages, awards and bonuses
paid by the units to
which they belong. With regard to social insurance and other welfare
benefits, the same treatment
shall be enjoyed by them as that enjoyed by the said units' employees.
Chapter V Trade Union
Funds and Assets
Article 42 The sources of trade union funds shall be as follows:
1) membership dues paid by union members;
2) monthly allocations of 2% of the total wages of all of its employees paid
to a trade union as
funds by the enterprise, public institution or government organ which
established the said trade
union organization;
3) income turned in by the enterprise or public institutions to which the
trade union is subordinated;
4) people's government subsidies; and
5) other income.
The funds allocated by the enterprise or pubic institution provided for in
item 2) of the preceding
paragraph shall be paid before tax collection.
Trade union funds shall be used primarily to serve the employees and for the
trade union activities.
Detailed measures on the use of such funds shall be formulated by the
All-China Federation of Trade
Unions.
Article 43 If an enterprise or public institution delays or refuses the
payment of trade union funds
without justified reasons, the basic-level trade union or the trade union at
the next higher level
may apply to the local people's court for order of payment; in case the
enterprise of public
institution refuses to execute the order of payment, the trade union may
apply to the people's court
for enforcement according to law.
Article 44 A trade union shall work out its own budget and final accounts,
as well as its own fund
inspection and supervisory systems in accordance with the principle of
independent accounting.
All levels of trade unions shall establish fund inspection committees.
The fund income and expenditure of trade unions at all levels shall be
investigated by the
equivalent level fund inspection committees and periodic reports shall be
made to the members'
general assemblies or representative assemblies and be subject to
supervision. A trade union general
assembly or representative assembly shall have the right to put forward
suggestions on the use of
trade union funds.
The use of trade union funds shall be subject to the supervision of the
State according to law.
Article 45 People's governments at all levels and enterprises, public
institutions and government
organs shall provide the necessary facilities, venues and other material
requirements of trade union
organizations handling office matters and arranging union activities.
Article 46 No organization or individual may occupy, misappropriate or
arbitrarily allocate a trade
union's assets, funds or immovable property allocated by the State for use
by the trade union.
Article 47 The jurisdictional framework of those enterprises and public
institutions serving
employees to which the trade unions are subordinated shall not be altered
arbitrarily.
Article 48 Persons retiring from positions with trade unions at the county
level or above shall
receive the same benefits as that of the persons working for State organs.
Chapter
VI Legal Responsibilities
Article 49 A trade union shall have the right to submit the infringement
upon its legal rights and
interests violating the provisions of this Law to the people's government or
the departments
concerned for handling, or to bring a lawsuit before the people's court.
Article 50 Those, in violation of the provisions of Article 3, Article 11 of
this Law that obstruct
the employees from participating in or organizing trade unions according to
law or that obstruct the
trade unions at the next higher levels from assisting and giving guidance in
the establishment of
trade unions shall be ordered by the administrative departments of labor to
make corrections; those
refusing to make corrections shall be submitted by the administrative
departments of labor to the
people's governments at the level of county or above for handling; those
causing serious results by
the means of violence or threats and constituting crimes shall be
investigated into for criminal
responsibilities.
Article 51 Those, in violation of the provisions of this Law, that make
vindictive attacks by
transferring the working personnel of trade unions performing their duties
according to law from
their posts without justified reasons shall be ordered by the administrative
departments of labor to
make corrections; and shall make compensation if any loss is caused.
Those that insult, defame or make personal injuries to the trade union
working personnel performing
duties according to law and thus committed crimes shall be investigated into
for criminal
responsibilities; in case a crime hasn't been constituted, the public
security departments shall
give punishment according to the regulations on punishment in respect to
management of pubic
security.
Article 52 Those, in violation of the provisions of this Law, who is under
any of the following
circumstances shall be ordered by the administrative departments of labor to
resume the employees'
work and reissue the remuneration that should be paid during the
cancellation of labor contracts, or
be ordered to make compensation of two times the annual income of the said
employees:
1) the employees' labor contracts are cancelled because of the employees'
participation in trade
union activities; or
2) the labor contracts of the trade union working personnel are cancelled
because of their
performance of the duties provided for by this Law.
Article 53 Those, in violation of the provisions of this Law, committing any
of the following acts
shall be ordered to make corrections and be dealt with by the people's
governments at the level of
county or above according to law:
1) hindering the trade union organizations in organizing the employees to
exercise the democratic
rights through the employee representative assemblies or other forms
according to law;
2) illegally canceling or consolidating the trade union organizations;
3) hindering the trade unions from participating in the investigation and
handlings of the
job-related accidents resulting in fatality or personal injuries of the
employees and other
infringement upon the legal rights and interests of the employees; and
4) refusing to make equal negotiation without justified reasons.
Article 54 For those, in violation of the provisions of Article 46 of this
Law, occupying the trade
union funds and refusing to return, the trade unions may bring lawsuits
before the people's courts,
request the return of the funds and compensation for losses.
Article 55 The working personnel, in violation of the provisions of this
Law, damaging the rights
and interests of the employees or trade unions shall be ordered by the
equivalent level trade unions
or the trade unions at the next higher levels to make corrections or be
given punishment; those
under serious circumstances shall be dismissed according to the Constitution
of the All-China
Federation of Trade Unions; those causing losses shall bear the
responsibilities for compensation;
and those constituting crimes shall be investigated into for criminal
responsibilities.
Chapter VII
Supplementary Provisions
Article 56 The specific measures for the implementation of this Law of the
trade unions of state
organs shall be formulated by the All-China Federation of Trade Unions
together with the relevant
state organs.
Article 57 This Law shall enter into force as of the date of promulgation.
The Trade Union Law of
the People's Republic of China, issued on June 29, 1950 by the People's
Central Government, shall be
annulled simultaneously.
(Promulgated by The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on
Oct27,2001)
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