Laws of the Guangdong Province

Measures of Shenzhen Municipality on Implementing the Law of the People' s Republic of China on Trade Unions

  (Adopted at the Twenty-sixth meeting of the Standing Committee of the Third People' s Congress of Shenzhen Municipality on August 27, 2003)

Article 1 In order to implement the Law of the People' s Republic of China on Trade Unions, safeguard trade unions' position and ensure them to play their role in the political, economic and social life of Shenzhen Municipality, these measures are formulated, combining with the actual circumstances of this municipality.

Article 2 All manual and mental laborers of enterprises, public institutions, government units or other organizations, who earn their living primarily from wages, have the right to participate in or organize trade unions according to law, regardless of ethnic status, race, sex, occupation, religious belief, education or form of employment.

No organization or individual may obstruct or restrict employees to participate in or organize trade unions with the reason of registered permanent residence, period of employment or work-post, or by the means of modifying or dissolving labor contract, cutting wage, refusing to pay social insurance premium or by other means unfavorable to employees.

No organization or individual may retaliate against any employee participating in or organizing trade unions.

Article 3 The legal rights and interests of trade unions are protected by law.

No organization or individual may arbitrarily amalgamate or dissolve trade unions, or put a trade union and its working bodies under the administration of other departments.

Article 4 The Trade unions at all levels shall be established or dissolved according to the provisions of the Law of the People' s Republic of China on Trade Unions, the Statutes of Chinese Trade Unions and these measures.

No organization, which is not established according to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, may carry out activities in the name of trade union, or exercise authorities substituting the trade union. Any organization, which violates this article, shall be banned by the administrative registration department of social organizations.

Article 5 A city, district or town shall establish a local federation of trade unions.

A community or industrial zone where there are a number of enterprises and other organizations may establish a league of trade unions.

Article 6 Enterprise, public institution or other organization being prepared to be established shall support their employees to prepare the establishment of a trade union.

The enterprise, public institution or other organization, which has already started business without any trade union, shall support and help its employees to establish a trade union within 6 months from stating business.

The superior trade union shall help and direct the employees of enterprise, public institution or other organization without any trade union to establish one. The enterprise, public institution or other organization shall give support and provide necessary conditions.

Article 7  When an employee of an enterprise, public institution, government unit or other organization requires to participate in or organize a trade union, the municipal, district and town' s federation of trade union, as well as the trade union of street and industry, shall offer help, and the enterprise, public institution, government unit or other organization shall give support.

Article 8 Any enterprise with 25 or more female employees shall establish a female employees committee in the trade union, which shall be under the leadership of the trade union at the same level. Any enterprise with 10 to 25 female employees shall have female member in the trade union committee.

Article 9 Any  primary trade union organization, which satisfies the requirements for legal person stipulated by law, shall be registered its qualification as a legal person by the municipal or district federation of trade unions and acquire the qualification of mass organization as a legal person according to relevant provisions of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions. The trade union organization, which has acquired the qualification of mass organization as a legal person, shall be examined annually according to relevant provisions.

Article 10 The term of a primary trade union committee is 3 or 5 years. The term of a municipal, district or town' s federation of trade unions or the industrial trade union is 5 years. If the trade union committee mentioned above is not elected after the expiration of a term, the superior trade union has the right to supervise and urge it to conduct election within a time limit.

Article 11 The legal representative or main director of an enterprise, public institution or other organization shall not hold a concurrent post as a trade union chairman or deputy chairman.

The close relative of the legal representative or main director mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall not become the candidate for the member of the primary trade union committee of this unit.

Article 12 The suggestion of removing the trade union chairman or deputy chairman from post shall be signed jointly by more than 10 trade union members and be raised in writing to the trade union at the same level or the superior trade union. The trade union at the same level or the superior trade union shall give a written reply within one month.

The removing of the trade union chairman or deputy chairman from post shall be discussed at the trade union general assembly or representatives assembly, and shall not be executed until more than half of all members of the general assembly or all the deputies to the representatives assembly vote for.

Article 13 The Trade union shall perform the basic functions and duties of safeguarding employees' legal rights and interests.

The Trade union shall coordinate labor relations and safeguard the labor rights and interests of enterprise employees by equal consultation and under the collective contract system.

The trade union shall liaise closely with employees, listen to and reflect their opinions and requirements, care for their livelihood, help them to overcome difficulties and serve them wholeheartedly.

Article 14 The Trade union shall educate employees in matters of democracy, legality and professional ethics jointly with the enterprise, public institution, government unit or other organization, organize them to develop mass rationalization proposals, technological reform and labor emulation campaigns, organize them to attend amateurish study of culture and technology as well as vocational training, and organize them to carry out recreational cultural entertainment and sports.

Article 15 The municipal, district or town people' s government shall establish the system of joint meeting with the trade union at the same level, in order to research and resolve the major problems directly concerning employees' immediate interests.

When researching or laying down major policy, measure or normative document on matters of labor and employment, wages, labor safety and hygiene or social insurance, which concern employees' interests, the municipal or district people' s government or its relevant department shall ask the trade union at the same level for participation, and listen to its opinions and suggestions.

When establishing the social supervisory and administrative institution concerning employment, wages, safe production and labor protection, social insurance, or retirement, the municipal and district people' s governments and their relevant departments shall ask the trade union at the same level for participation.

Article 16 The municipal or district administrative department of labor shall establish the tripartite consultation mechanism of labor relation jointly with the representatives of the trade union organization at the same level and the enterprise organization, in order to study and resolve the major problems concerning labor relation.

The Town and street shall positively create conditions for the establishment of the tripartite consultation mechanism of labor relation.

Article 17 The Trade union may carry out democratic management and supervision to enterprise, public institution or other organization by sending members to participate  in the board of directors and supervisors through the employee representative assembly or by other means according to law. The Trade union has the right to require the activities of violating the employee representative assembly system, open management system or other democratic management systems to be corrected. Relevant units shall ensure the employees' rights to democratic management according to law.

Article 18 The state-owned or collectively owned enterprise, or its holding enterprise, shall report to the employee representatives assembly the major matters concerning the enterprise' s schemes of reform, convert,  merger, bankruptcy or medium- or long-term development,, except those involving state or business secretes. The schemes of reducing staff, settling dismissed employees and disposing the assets for settlement shall be referred to the employee representatives assembly for discussion and adoption.

Article 19 The employee representative taking part in the company' s board of directors or supervisors shall be nominated by the company' s trade union organization, and be elected  by the employee representative assembly, or by a democratic formfitting for the company.

The chairman or deputy chairman of the company' s trade union may be elected as the employee representative in the board of directors or supervisors through democratic election.

Article 20 The trade union shall help and direct each employee to conclude a labor contract with the enterprise or other organization, where there is labor relation, and shall supervise the conclusion, performance, alteration, rescission, termination and renewal of the contract.

When drawing up a model contract, the municipal or district administration department of labor shall solicit opinions from the trade union at the same level beforehand. When drawing up the provisions of labor contract, the enterprise, public institution, government unit or other organization shall solicit opinions from its own trade union.

Article 21 The trade union shall represent  employees in consulting and signing a collective contract with the enterprise, public institution or other organization on the major matters of payment for labor, working hours, rest and vacation, insurance and welfare, labor safety and hygiene and professional training. A special collective contract may be concluded on the matters mentioned above.

The draft of a collective contract shall be submitted to the employees assembly or the meeting of the employee representatives assembly for discussion and adoption.

The industrial or regional trade union may consult with corresponding enterprise organization to conclude an industrial or regional collective contract.

The trade union, enterprise, public institution, government unit or other organization shall not refuse or delay the consultation on the conclusion of a collective contract without proper reason.

Article 22 If the remained term of labor contract of the employee, who is a consultation representative of a collective contract, is shorter than the term of collective contract, the term of labor contract shall be automatically prolonged to the expiration of collective contract, unless he commits serious mistake or has reached the mandatory age for retirement.

If an employee consultation representative uses working hours to participate in consultation, his wages and other benefits shall not be affected.

Article 23 The trade unions at all levels shall set up and perfect the supervision system of labor law, appoint supervisory personnel of labor law, and supervise the enterprise' s implementation of labor laws and regulations. If the enterprise violates labor law or regulations, the supervisory personnel of trade union shall put forward opinions and suggestions in writing. If the enterprise refuses to make correction, the trade union shall ask the administrative department of labor and relevant departments for handling according to law.

The municipal, district, town' s federation of trade unions and the street trade union may send members to assist the administrative department of labor at the same level to carry out the supervision and inspection to the implementation of all labor laws and regulations.

Article 24 The trade unions at all levels shall establish supervisory organizations of labor protection, and appoint supervisory personnel of labor protection. When the supervisory personnel of labor protection carry out the supervision and inspection to the enterprise' s production safety, the enterprise shall give assistance and shall not hinder or obstruct them.

Article 25 In case that an employing unit commits any one of the following acts infringing upon the legitimate rights and interests of employee, the trade union shall represent the employee in negotiating with the employing unit:

(1) delaying in paying wages to or embezzling wages of employees;

(2) failing to pay, paying insufficiently, or delaying to pay the social insurance premiums for employees ;

(3) failing to provide the conditions of labor safety and hygiene according to law;

(4) prolonging working hours in violation of the Labor Law of the People' s Republic of China;

(5) failing to pay overtime remuneration according to relevant provisions;

(6) infringing on the special rights and interests of female or juvenile employee;

(7) illegally searching employee' s body, holding employee' s effective certificate in custody, illegally restricting employee' s personal freedom or infringing upon employee' s right of life or health by the means of violence;

(8) infringing upon employee' s labor rights and interests by other means.

Article 26 The trade union has the following powers and functions when negotiating with the employing unit on the matters of infringing upon employee' s legal rights and interests:

(1) to investigate and obtain evidence from the employing unit or insider, look up and copy relevant materials and other proofs;

(2) to put forward the opinion of rectification and reform to the employing unit, and require it to take measures of correction;

(3) to represent employees in consulting with the employing unit or relevant departments in order to resume the normal production and working order, in case that the employees stop work or slow down, because the employing unit infringes upon their legal rights and interest.

Article 27 The employing unit shall support and assist the trade union to exercise the consultation right according to law, study and deal with the reasonable opinions and requirements put forward by the trade union in time, and give reply to it. If the employing unit refuses to make correction, the trade union shall ask the people' s government or relevant departments for handling according to law.

Article 28 The enterprise may establish a labor dispute mediation committee. The enterprise' s trade union shall be in charge of the daily work of the labor dispute mediation committee. The superior trade union shall direct and help the mediation of labor disputes.

The trade union at or above the level of town or street shall establish a directing committee of labor disputes mediation, in order to help and direct the mediation organization of labor disputes within its administration area to carry out work.

Article 29 The trade unions federations of municipality, district and town, as well as the industrial and street trade unions shall provide consultation service of laws, regulations and policies concerning the matters of labor and personnel, wages and welfare, social insurance or labor protection.

The municipal and district federation of trade unions, as well as the well equipped town and street trade union may establish an institution respectively to provide legal service or legal aid to the trade union and employees under them.

Article 30 The municipal, district and town federations of trade unions shall assist relevant departments to prefect the management and service to the retirees.

Article 31 The enterprise, public institution, government unit or other organization having established a trade union shall allocate the funds for current month, which is two percents of the total wages of its all employees paid in last month, to the trade union before the fifteenth day of every month.    

From the date when the preparatory organization of trade union is set up, the municipal, district federation of trade unions, or the industrial trade union shall collect preparation funds for establishing a trade union from the enterprise, public institution, government unit or other organization, according to the standard of allocating the funds of trade union. After the trade union is established, the collected money shall be returned to it according to the provisions on the management of trade union funds.

The funds of trade union allocated by the enterprise, public institution or other organization, and the preparatory funds shall be paid before paying tax, while the state uniform Special Receipt of the Allocated Funds of Trade Union shall be issued.

If the enterprise, public institution, government unit or other organization refuses to allocate the funds of trade union without proper reason, the primary trade union or the superior trade union may apply to the people' s court for an order of payment.

Article 32 The treatment of the retirees of the municipal, district or town federation of trade unions shall be the same as it of the personnel of state organ. The required expenses shall be resolved according to relevant provisions of the State.

Article 33 No organization or individual may arbitrarily occupy, embezzle or allocate the assets, funds of the trade union or the enterprise or public institution under the trade union, or the real estate allocated to trade union by the State, may arbitrarily cancel the bank account opened by the trade union according to law, nor may frozen, seal up or hold in custody the assets, funds of the trade union or use them to pay off debts regarding the assets, funds of the trade union as them of the unit to which the trade union belongs.

Before the trade union is consolidated, split or cancelled, its assets and funds shall be audited under the direction of its superior trade union, and be dealt with according to the following provisions separately:

(1) in case that the trade union is consolidated, its assets and funds shall belong to the trade union established by consolidation;

(2) in case that the trade union is split, its assets and funds shall be distributed according to the number of members;

(3) If a trade union is canceled, its assets and funds shall belong to its superior trade union, which shall bear limited liability within the amount of the accepted assets and funds.

When a bankrupt enterprise liquidates and deals with bankruptcy properties, the superior trade union may claim for the unpaid funds of the trade union as a creditor to the enterprise.

Article 34 The facilities for employees to enjoy cultural education, recuperation or recreation, which belong to the municipal or district federation of trade unions, shall be treated as the social public facilities of the same kind according to relevant provisions of the State.

Article 35 Any one of the following acts conducted by the enterprise, public institution, government unit or other organization may be found as retaliation against the working staff of the trade union, and be dealt with according to the provisions of the Law of the People' s Republic of China on Trade Unions by the administrative department of labor:

(1) transferring the chairman or deputy chairman of the trade union to other position during his term of office inconsistent with the procedures stipulated in the Law of the People' s Republic of China on Trade Unions, and refusing to make correction ;

(2) canceling the labor contract with the working staff of trade union because he performs the functions and duties stipulated in the Law of the People' s Republic of China on Trade Unions or these Measures;

(3) canceling the labor contract in violation of the provisions of the People' s Republic of China on Trade Unions on the extended period of labor contract, and refusing to make correction；

(4) transferring the working staff of trade union, who performs his functions and duties according to law, to other position without proper reason.

Article 36 The person from Hongkong, Macao, Taiwan or foreign country, who is employed by the enterprise or public institution of Shenzhen and earns his living primarily from wages, may participate in the trade union of this municipality by voluntary application after the superior trade union approves, and shall enjoy the rights, fulfill the obligations as a member of the trade union according to law.

If a member from Hongkong, Macao, Taiwan or foreign country fails to pay his membership dues as stipulated without special reason in excessive 6 months, his membership of the trade union shall be deprived automatically.

        Article 37 These Measures shall go into effect as of November 1, 2003.