In a collaborative effort, seven official bodies – the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU), the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP), the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, and the China Enterprise Confederation (China Enterprise Directors Association) – have released guidelines on jointly protecting workers' rights and interests.
The initiative aims to further strengthen the protection of workers' legitimate rights and interests, enhance the mechanisms for consultation and coordination of the issues related to labor relations, and strengthen collaborative efforts across multiple authorities in order to maintain stability within the workforce and social harmony.
The document outlines 11 priorities for collaborative mechanisms and specific responsibilities for various departments in safeguarding workers' legitimate rights and interests. Authorities will work together to establish mechanisms for information sharing, joint research, and the release of typical cases. They will also collectively promote the formulation and revision of laws, regulations and policies closely related to workers' rights and interests. Based on their respective functions, they will provide timely legal consultations, suggestions for employment compliance, litigation support, and legal aid.
The document underscores the need to enhance the coordination of legal supervision over labor-related disputes, strengthening synergy of procuratorial supervision, labor security inspection, occupational health and safety supervision, and trade union legal oversight. It also stresses the synergy of judicial advice, procuratorial recommendations or opinions, arbitration suggestions, and the "one letter, two documents" system – a concrete measure taken by the ACFTU and the SPP to improve coordination on safeguarding workers' rights and interests through trade union recommendations on labor law supervision – as well as compliance recommendations for enterprise employment practices.
The guidelines highlight promoting the healthy development of emerging sectors and safeguarding the rights and interests of workers in new forms of employment. They require various State authorities to work together to facilitate regular negotiations between internet-based platform enterprises and workers in new employment forms, while improving mechanisms of consultation and coordination for workers' rights and interests. They also state that various State authorities will jointly promote the construction of platforms for safeguarding workers' rights and interests, and build integrated and one-stop labor dispute resolution platforms to provide efficient legal services for workers, especially those in new forms of employment.
The document specifies that the ACFTU will convene annual meetings to address significant issues related to workers' interests and interests, such as labor relations, employment, skills training, income distribution, and social security.
