Part One:

Introduction to the Trade Union Law of the People's Republic of China

On December 24, 2021, the 32nd meeting of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress adopted the Decision on Amending the Trade Union Law of the People's Republic of China, and the new Trade Union Law took effect on January 1, 2022.

The Trade Union Law is the basic law that defines the legal status and work responsibilities of trade unions, and is an important institutional guarantee for trade union organizations to carry out work in accordance with the law. This amendment and implementation is a major measure and important achievement in China's rule of law construction, fully reflecting the Party and state's sincere care for the working class and high emphasis on trade union work, as well as the concern and support from all sectors of society for workers and trade union work. It is of great significance for establishing stable and harmonious labor relations and maintaining overall stability.

The new Trade Union Law systematically stipulates the various rights of trade unions in the form of basic law, actively responds to new situations and problems in the field of labor relations, and provides a solid foundation and legal guarantee for the realization of the rights of the working class. Therefore, this article will interpret the new highlights of the Trade Union Law and guide everyone to understand the spiritual essence of the Trade Union Law.

Part Two: New Highlights

I. Improving Workers' Right to Join Trade Unions

The Trade Union Law stipulates:

Article 3: Workers who rely on wages as their main source of livelihood in enterprises, public institutions, state organs, and social organizations (collectively referred to as employers) within the borders of China, regardless of ethnicity, race, gender, occupation, religious belief, or level of education, all have the right to participate in and organize trade unions in accordance with the law. No organization or individual may obstruct or restrict this.

Trade unions shall adapt to the development and changes in enterprise organizational forms, workforce structure, labor relations, and employment patterns, and safeguard workers' right to participate in and organize trade unions in accordance with the law.

Interpretation: This article clarifies workers' right to join trade unions. This amendment, in light of current era developments and changes, removes the prerequisite of labor relations for joining trade unions to adapt to workers in new forms of employment, improves the rights of workers such as truck drivers, online car-hailing drivers, delivery riders, and takeout workers under new employment patterns, and provides clear legal guidance, effectively safeguarding workers' right to join trade unions, expanding the coverage of trade union organizations and trade union work, and clearing obstacles for workers to "join unions as they should."

II. Adding Basic Responsibilities of Trade Unions

The Trade Union Law stipulates:

Article 6: Safeguarding workers' legitimate rights and interests and wholeheartedly serving workers are the basic responsibilities of trade unions. While safeguarding the overall interests of the people of the whole country, trade unions represent and safeguard workers' legitimate rights and interests.

Trade unions promote the improvement of the labor relations coordination mechanism through the system of equal consultation and collective contracts, safeguard workers' labor rights, and build harmonious labor relations.

Trade unions, in accordance with the law, organize workers to participate in democratic elections, democratic consultation, democratic decision-making, democratic management, and democratic supervision within their units through workers' representative congresses or other forms.

Trade unions shall establish a trade union work system that is broadly connected and serves workers, maintain close contact with workers, listen to and reflect their opinions and demands, care about workers' lives, and help workers solve difficulties, serving workers wholeheartedly.

Interpretation:

As the bridge and bond between the Party and the masses, trade unions represent workers' interests and safeguard workers' legitimate rights and interests in accordance with the law. This revision also adds basic responsibilities of trade unions in response to era demands, explicitly proposing to "promote the improvement of the labor relations coordination mechanism" and "build harmonious labor relations." At the same time, "establishing a trade union work system that is broadly connected and serves workers" is also made an important content of trade union responsibilities. This reflects that as representatives of workers, trade unions should continuously safeguard workers' legitimate rights and interests from various aspects and angles, continuously enhancing workers' sense of happiness and security, for which corresponding legal guarantees are also provided.

Additionally, "democratic elections" and "democratic consultation" are newly added to the democratic procedures in worker democratic management, providing a more complete legal basis for trade unions to promote worker democratic management.

III. New Requirements for Industrial Worker Team Building Reform

The Trade Union Law stipulates:

Article 8: Trade unions promote the reform of industrial worker team building, improve the overall quality of the industrial worker team, give play to the backbone role of industrial workers, safeguard industrial workers' legitimate rights and interests, guarantee industrial workers' status as masters of the country, and build a large contingent of industrial workers who have ideals, uphold beliefs, understand technology, and can innovate, dare to take responsibility and are willing to contribute.

Interpretation:

Industrial workers refer to workers engaged in collective productive labor in modern factories, mines, transportation and other enterprises, whose main source of livelihood is wage income.

This article is newly added, stipulating the tasks of trade unions in promoting industrial worker team building reform, and explicitly defining the promotion of industrial worker team building reform as a statutory responsibility of trade union organizations. Secondly, it clarifies the content of trade unions' promotion of industrial worker team building reform. On one hand, it improves the overall quality of the industrial worker team and gives play to the backbone role of industrial workers; on the other hand, it safeguards industrial workers' legitimate rights and interests and guarantees industrial workers' status as masters of the country. Additionally, this article determines the basic goal of industrial worker team building reform, namely to build a large contingent of industrial workers who have ideals, uphold beliefs, understand technology and can innovate, dare to take responsibility and are willing to contribute.

This newly added article is one with substantial content and function, effectively safeguarding industrial workers' rights and improving the guarantee mechanism for industrial workers' labor economic rights and interests.

IV. Increasing the Participation of Trade Union Representatives

The Trade Union Law stipulates:

Article 39: Enterprises, public institutions, and social organizations shall listen to trade union opinions when studying major issues concerning management and development; when holding meetings to discuss wages, benefits, occupational safety and health, working hours, rest and leave, female worker protection, and social insurance matters that concern workers' immediate interests, trade union representatives must participate.

Enterprises, public institutions, and social organizations shall support trade unions in carrying out work in accordance with the law; trade unions shall support enterprises, public institutions, and social organizations in exercising management rights in accordance with the law.

Interpretation: On matters concerning workers' immediate interests, only by increasing the participation of trade union representatives can workers' demands be better reflected. The matters concerning workers' immediate interests specified in Article 4 of the Labor Contract Law explicitly include "labor remuneration, working hours, rest and leave, occupational safety and health, insurance benefits, vocational training, labor discipline, and management of labor quotas." Considering the need to adapt to era requirements and to maintain national legal unity, this article explicitly adds "working hours, rest and leave, female worker protection" to the types of matters concerning workers' immediate interests in addition to "wages, benefits, occupational safety and health, social insurance," reflecting the connection between the Trade Union Law and the Labor Contract Law and other relevant legal provisions.

Conclusion: The amendment and implementation of the Trade Union Law fully reflects the Party and state's sincere care for the working class and high emphasis on trade union work, and is a major measure and important achievement in China's rule of law construction. Companies and workers should thoroughly study and implement the new Trade Union Law, which will help build harmonious labor relations. At the same time, they should also study the relevant content of the Trade Union Law to safeguard workers' rights and interests.

The above content is contributed by Shanghai Runyi Law Firm