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Dialogue better than confrontation
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Huang Naili
A JAPANESE-INVESTED firm in the city offers enviable salaries. However, the Japanese investor was still vexed by constant labour disputes. To solve the problem once and for all, the investor consulted with Shenzhen's labour officials about the possibility of introducing an annual salary review and negotiation system.
Luo Xingguang, salary division chief of the Shenzhen Municipal Labour Bureau, wasn't surprised by the initiative. The practice for both representatives from the labour and enterprise owners to sit down together once a year to discuss the salary scale and growth is very common in European countries, the US and Japan. “In Japan, they would call it a ‘spring fight' as the negotiations are usually taken in spring and can involve bitter quarrels," said Luo.
According to Luo, back in 1993, Shenzhen and Chengdu were selected by the country to introduce the negotiation system. However, the fear that it might spark social unrest put the reform on the shelf.
“It should be considered a vaccine shot against possible labour disputes rather than a serious threat. It can actually nip labour disputes in the bud." Luo said China's Labour Law promulgated in 1996, which made it clear that a salary negotiation system would be promoted around the country, made the labour officials in the city more determined to carry out the reform.
And the reform was enthusiastically welcomed by various enterprises. Fucheng Investment Co Ltd, a private company in Futian, was one firm which embraced the international practice. On December 28 last year, three representatives of Fucheng's employees negotiated with three people representing the owner on the company's distribution plan, basic salary scale and salary increase rate for the year 2001. The owner promised to increase the basic salary scale from 1,800 yuan to 2,000 yuan and the salary is expected to increase by 15 per cent for the new year. The result was put down in black and white and signed by both sides.
Luo said the reform is best suited for the city's private companies and foreign-invested firms. “It's not as suitable for State-owned enterprises as in these enterprises, since the general managers are not the real owners. Overseas-invested firms are more prepared for the system as it's long been a common international practice," Luo noted.
Statistics indicate that 60 per cent of the petitions to the Shenzhen Municipal Government last year concerned labour disputes and 90 per cent of these labour disputes arose from salary rows. Luo said the reform is going to be carried out step by step. Longgang and Bao'an districts are expected to become key areas for Luo's bureau to promote the reform. “Areas which are eager to compete for more foreign investors sometimes tend to overprotect enterprise owners and ignore workers' rights, a situation which can breed serious unrest. The new system is a significant aid to social stability," Luo concluded.
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