How do Chinese workers live? Are they safe? Are they happy? This presentation is about working conditions in Chinese contemporary society.

2. The other side of fairy tales
Working conditions in post-
Mao’s era

3. 毛泽东
ERA

4. 邓小平
& The Four
Modernizations

5. Worker
In Chinese culture there are three terms
that are commonly used to refer to work:
• Láodòng (劳动);
• Dǎgōng (打工);
• Gōngzuò (工作).

6. Legislation
• Labour Law of the People’s Republic of China, effective July 1, 1995.
• Employment Contract Law of the People’s Republic of China, effective
January 1, 2008, amended with
effect from July 1, 2013.
• Employment Promotion Law of the People’s Republic of China, effective
January 1, 2008.
• Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Mediation and Arbitration of
Employment Disputes, effective
May 1, 2008 (Employment Disputes Law).
• Labour Union Law of the People’s Republic of China, effective October 27,
2001.
• Implementing Regulations for the Law of the People’s Republic of China on
Employment Contracts,
effective September 18, 2008 (ECL Implementing Rules).
• Employment Contract Law, effective on January 1, 2008.

7. KEYPOINTS
Wage
Overtime payment
Labor Unions
Contract and termination of
it
Insurance

9. WORKING TIME
Two shift system, which has 11 working hours
7.30 a.m.- 6.30 p.m.
7.30 p.m.-6.30 a.m.
40 min for one meal
20 min break
Increasing risk of injury in order to speed
the process. This is a violation of standardised
positions

10. Interview with workers
• Li Qiang: How much time do you work in December?
• Worker: ...
• Li Qiang: I am asking if you get any rest in December.
• Worker: No one day break in December other than
today afternoon. That is because tomorrow is January
1st, 2000. In fact we don’t have one day off, and we
work 12.5 hours averagely. Only Sunday evenings we
don’t have extended work.

11. WAGE
• Li Qiang: How much did you get in September and in October?
• Worker: I got 385 Yuan for September. (42 Euros. Ndr)
• Li Qiang: So you got 385 Yuan in September and you had only one day off in that
month.
[…]
• Li Qiang: Do you have a wage sheet?
• Worker: That is a fake wage sheet. We can’t see that sheet.
• Li Qiang: How do you know there is such a fake wage sheet?
• Worker: Because I have a countryman who is working as a treasurer. And his job is
to make this fake wage
• sheet.
• Li Qiang: How does this fake sheet work?
• Worker: The fake sheet would present a higher wage than the actual thing.
• Li Qiang: Who is this fake wage sheet for?
• Worker: This wage is shown to the inspectors from the governmental Labor Bureau.

13. LIVING CONDITIONS
• Li Qiang: What is the condition in the dormitory?
• Worker: Fifteen or sixteen people share a single room.
• Li Qiang: How big is the room?
• Worker: There is only a onemeterwide alleyway between
the beds.

15. SANITARY CONDITIONS
• Li Qiang: Do you know that the paint is poisonous?
• Worker: I don’t know. But it smells terrible.
• Li Qiang: Do you wear masks?
• Worker: The factory doesn’t provide mask. If you want one you have to
buy one.
• Li Qiang: What if the paint spoiled on your hands?
• Worker: We would use banana oil to clean it. You can see the skin of my
hand is leaking.
• Li Qiang: Oh my god! Your skin is leaking!
• Worker: It is getting better these days. You can (see) flesh couple of days
ago.

16. INSURANCE
Li Qiang: Now you are working for a very long time. Do you
have any medical insurance?
Worker: No.
Li Qiang: What do you do when getting sick?
Worker: You have to pay for the medical expenses by yourself,
usually deducted from the wages.

17. Photogallery

21. Bibliography:
La Cina del Novecento (G. Samarani) 2008 Piccola Biblioteca Einaudi
Contemporary China: Society and Social Change Tamara Jacka, Andrew Kipnis
and Sally Sargeson (Cambridge University Press, 2013).
«The Other Side of Fairy Tales»
China Labor Watch An investigation of labor conditions, at five Chinese toy
factories(November 20, 2015)
Interview with a Factory Worker: December 1999 interview with
workers at Merton's Dongguan factory(By Li Qiang, China Labor Watch
November 2001)
La normativa del lavoro in Cina ( CorriereAsia) G. Pisacane
China Employment Guide (Baker&McKenzie, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2013)
中国人民共和国劳动法 (Labor Law of PRC) 1995
中国人民共和国劳动合同法， 2008
Dreamwork China (https://vimeo.com/27982653) documentary directed by
Tommaso Facchin and Ivan Franceschini