Law Commons^™

Article 14 Of China's New Labor Contract Law: Using Open-Term Contracts To Appropriately Balance Worker Protection And Employer Flexibility, Jovita T. Wang

Washington International Law Journal

China’s economy rapidly developed as it shifted from a planned economy to a market economy. Cheap labor encouraged foreign companies to conduct business in China, but that business came at the expense of labor protection. Workers who had previously enjoyed lifetime employment suddenly faced rampant layoffs, labor abuse, and unemployment. Despite China’s implementation of the Labor Law in 1994, labor abuse continued, especially by employers refusing to follow written contract requests to define the employment relationship. Many workers were left unprotected. In response to these problems, China passed the Labor Contract Law in 2007 to clarify requirements of employment contracts …