ILO and MOHRSS kick off a development cooperation project to promote harmonious labour relations through collective bargaining
The project is to strengthen the effectiveness of collective negotiations and enhance institutional capacity of constituents, and promote more effective institutions and governance frameworks for collective bargaining and collective negotiation dispute resolution.
Beijing (ILO News) -- On 27 April 2017, the ILO Country Office for China and Mongolia and the Chinese Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for implementation of a project to promote harmonious labour relations through collective bargaining.
Attending this event were representatives from responsible departments of MOHRSS, All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU), China Enterprise Confederation (CEC), All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce (ACFIC), ILO Country Office for China and Mongolia and ILO Inclusive Labour Markets, Labour Relations and Working Conditions Branch (INWORK) in Geneva.
The 1st Project Steering Committee meeting held after the signing ceremony of the MOU. China is undergoing an economic transformation, while witnessing a rise of flexible employment in the fast growing sharing economy. Promoting harmonious labour relations is an important agenda of the Chinese government as specified in China’s 13th Five-Year Plan and an integral part of the ILO’s Decent Work Country Programme in China. During the signing ceremony, the MOHRSS representatives highlighted the timeliness of this project. " Not only work is changing, also different are labour relations. Collective bargaining is a key instrument in contributing to establishing a rational wage mechanism and fair market competition, reducing inequality and creating social dialogues in the workplace," said Mr Hao Bin, the Director-General of the International Cooperation Department of MOHRSS. Experiences around the world show that a functioning collective bargaining system can help prevent labour disputes, reduce inequalities and help enterprises to adjust to rapid change in a dynamic labour market without sacrificing workers’ interests.
The project is to strengthen the effectiveness of collective negotiations and enhance institutional capacity of constituents, and promote more effective institutions and governance frameworks for collective bargaining and collective negotiation dispute resolution. The ILO Country Director Mr Tim De Meyer believed “through our common efforts, the project will contribute much to China's economic transformation, market transition, better income distribution, as well as poverty and inequality reduction."
The project will take innovative approaches to promote bi-lateral dialogues between workers and employers, foster joint decision and efforts on building up enterprise mechanisms that allow workers and employers to agree on win-win outcomes. Meanwhile, it also aims at enhancing the capacity of the government to create a more conducive institutional environment, and improve governance mechanisms for collective labour relations.
