Social Sciences in China (Chinese Edition)

No.6, 2013

The Collective Transformation of Labor Relations and the Improvement of the Government’s Labor Policy

(Abstract)

Chang Kai

China is currently undergoing a transformation from individual to collectivized labor relations. The enactment of the Labor Contract Law marks the initial completion of the individual adjustment of labor relations in legal construction, as well as the starting point for the collective adjustment of labor relations. The construction and adjustment of individual labor relations is in practice unable to resolve the conflict between labor and capital or to maintain the stability of labor relations. In the transformation toward collectivized labor relations are two reconciliatory forces and paths, one being the top-down construction dominated by the government, and the other being the spontaneous bottom-up mobilization from laborers. The shift from right disputes to interest disputes is an important characteristic of the transformation toward collectivized labor relations. The labor policy in China needs to be adjusted and improved. Its content should include: theoretical guidance of labor relations and the selection of an adjustment model, the perfection of collective labor law, the identification with the collective rights of laborers, as well as the handling of the relationship between two labor forces.