중국 노동계약법을 둘러싼 논쟁과 기업의 대응

Abstract

The Chinese government has been improving its industrial structure toward higher-value added industries from labor intensive industries by using a series of political measures. Among other things, the Labor Contract Law has been a hot issue for the improvement. The labors, entrepreneurs and legal specialists who had participated in enacting the law hold different views for its possible results. First, Labors had lived a simple life but belonged to the middle class before the China's Opening and Innovation. The Opening and Innovation was expected to help the people overcome poverty and find a better life but it has caused the labor class to collapse. As a result, labors, who were estranged in distribution processes of wealth, have formed a lowest level. Since then, this situation has persisted and caused China to become a country of the largest gap between the rich and the poor. Therefore, labors's dissatisfaction and anger grew a factor of a social and political unrest. In 1994, the Labor Law was enacted in these situations. And more than 10 years have passed. China, now, is much more developed and complicated in its economic system than 10 years ago. So the existing Labor Law is no more efficient by itself. Labor and management relation has become more unequal. That is to say, it stirred up the enterprises' temporary employment, unilateral lay-offs and avoidance for labors' rights. The Labor Contract Law came out under these circumstances. After the draft of the law, which was composed of 7 chapters and 65 articles, was announced, each interest group started an argument to achieve their own profits. These arguments appeared among the Labor Law specialists who had participated in establishing the Labor Contract Law. Dong Bao-hua, a professor of East China Univ. of Political Science and Law, represents the capitalists. And ChangKai, a professor of People's Univ. of China, stands for labors. These two specialists showed a big difference of their opinions above the Labor Contract Law. Dong Bao-hua wanted the Labor Contract Law to supplement the Labor Law. So he required a low standard but an extended application and strong enforcement. ChangKai, however, insisted that the labor standard is too low, and the Labor Law is not so concrete that it brought about the unbalanced situation. Therefore, he required not an auxiliary form of the Labor Law but a birth of a new law. Through the arguments, the Labor Contract Law was formed to include a high standard of labor system, which ChangKai strongly required. It strengthened the labors' rights compared to the existing Labor Law so that enterprises had to pay higher costs. Enterprises were perplexed over this situation. But they coped with it with various countermeasures.Huawei, one of the largest Chinese telegraph equipment manufacturers and a national model enterprise, was at the head of the counteraction. Huawei paid 1 billion yuans of compensation to the 7,000 workers and the president who had worked more than 8 years and let them resign and be re-employed through a competition. It is called, "Huawei's resignation gate". Huawei's action triggered the society to be divided into two parts and argue for and against. It also stirred up other companies to imitate the action and create various ways to evade the responsibility of the new law. Enforcing the labor contract law caused to change the labor and management relation. That is, the labor dispatch system, contrary to their expectation, has become preferred by enterprises and labor disputes have increased. More and more enterprises started to make its company policy based on the Labor Contract Law. And they also let their representatives ask Chinese Congress to amend the Labor Contract Law. Although a growing number of companies sign the long tern contracts and the rate has been increasing, they've made an illicit use of the law and found illegal ways to dodge their responsibility. Therefore our enterprises, launched into the Chinese market, should be aware of innovative management of personnel resources. They need to carry out a scientific and systemized management and bring up competent manpower resources. On the basis of these efforts, labors and enterprises can occupy trusts and find a way toward a development in the Chinese market. The Labor Contract Law is the key. And it is the innovative management of personnel resources that Korean enterprises should continue and expend their business in China. Their endeavor toward it in the long run will help them to keep a good and everlasting partnership with China and the people.