Professor Zhang Zhongjun, Vice Head of the CPS General Affairs Office emphasized in his opening speech that the longstanding and multifaceted cooperation between the Hanns Seidel Foundation and the Central Party School has laid the foundation for a continuous exchange and greatly contributed to the deepening of mutual understanding between the two countries. Mrs. Ulla Bekel underlined his words, stressing that the CPS was a particularly important partner in the field of academic exchange.
In the course of the conference Dr. Günter Schucher from the GIGA Institute for Asian Studies lectured on "Labor disputes in China and the new 'Law on mediation and arbitration in labor disputes'". Afterwards Professor Liang Peng, Head of the Institute of Macroeconomics of the Central Party School spoke about “The problem of fair income distribution in the progress of Chinas economic development”. These two presentations initiated and provided the background for the subsequent discussion.
Compared to other countries Germany offers a high level of social security and possesses a detailed regulatory system for handling labor disputes. According to Dr. Schucher, origins of these structures can be traced back to the “tradition of caretaking” as well as to conflicts over working conditions and the subsequent establishment of strong labor unions in the late 19 th century. While China has its own tradition of social security (danwei system) the number of conflicts has been rising as industrialization proceeds, threatening social stability. The German system of social security is under a lot of pressure due to factors like globalization, changing framework conditions and the aging of society. While these factors also influence the process of reform in China, the problems China is facing in its fast paced development are even bigger, as the relatively low level of development and the huge population have to be taken into account.
The government is setting the framework of social policy in Germany, but social partners, employers' associations as well as labor unions play an important role when it comes to formulating this framework. In their function as tariff negotiation partners they can stipulate specific working conditions for a certain time, as for example in the case of wages and salaries.
Since conflicts arise from different interests they can not be permanently resolved, but only temporarily defused. But for a long time the prevalent understanding in China was that entrepreneurs and workers have collective interests, namely the establishment of socialism and a modern China, a conception that determines the role of labor unions to this day. U nions function as an intermediary between the workers and the state, at the same time they take over the role of a mediator when it comes to dealing with enterprises. A substantial increase in labor disputes was recorded in China, both individual and collective. Wages and welfare as well as employment contracts and work safety are central issues. Chinese scholars are talking about a “collectivization” of labor relations. In addition, the complexity of the cases seems to be increasing, as fewer and fewer cases can be clearly decided in favor of the employer or employee. Therefore conflict resolution trough mediation and arbitration is proving less and less successful while other forms of protest are on the rise. The new law on mediation and arbitration in labor disputes' is set to improve this situation. In the course of the discussion Prof. Liang referred to recent protests of taxi drivers in various cities as well as several protests due to factory closures in the province of Guangdong , triggered by the financial and economic crisis.
Professor Liang Peng stated in his presentation that since the beginning of the reform and opening policy in 1978 the Chinese economy has been developing dynamically and with consistently high growth rates. This has been a great success, especially in regard to the benefit s that it brought to the people and the vast improve ment of the income situation of households. This dynamic development also has been a significant contributor to social peace and stability. But according to Prof. Liang we have to be aware that this is only one side of the coin. A t the same time the income inequality within the population has increased and the urban-rural gap is still expanding. Chinas Gini coefficient, a statistical tool for inequality measurement, was at 0.16 in 1978 . In 2007 it had already reached 0.48.
In the past decades u rban development was made the main priority, therefore the more prosperous regions are almost exclusively located in the East and South of China . But now the promotion of rural development has become an integral part of the political agenda. The economic stimulus package recently launched by the government aims at boosting the domestic market demand, but even more so at a general development of rural areas through infrastructure measures and the creation and improvement of welfare services such as healthcare and education. Better educational opportunities will also contribute to social justice, Prof. Liang stressed. An increased provision of public goods for rural areas will be a vital contribution to the development of social eq uity and the decre ase of urban-rural disparity. Recently introduced tax measures are also set to offer financial relief to the population and can help improve the income situation of the rural population. The primary objective of maintaining social stability requires the reduction of existing disparities.
In the ensuing discussion a program for the creation of new socialist villages was mentioned in connection with the further promotion of rural areas. According to Prof. Liang, steps taken in this field proved to be successful. Provided funding reached the recipients in spite of leakage in the transfer process from the central government to local levels. The program will be continued in the next few years and an even more extensive funding is planned. But the consultation and involvement of the local population has to be strengthened in the implementation of these measures. An increase in efficiency and a concentration of resources will be achieved trough a better coordination between the various ministries.
A further tax relief coming into effect soon will result in a loss of revenue for local authorities, a shortfall that the generally positive tax revenue situation might compensate for. But Dr. Schucher emphasizes in this context that it is very important how exactly lower levels will be compensated for lost revenue, because only then can they fulfill their tasks.
The competitive position of companies is affected due to a partly state-administered pay raises as minimum wages were updated under the new labor legislation. But the recently launched economic stimulus package also includes preferential policies to improve their competitive position of companies.
The Chinese system of residence registration (hukou system) has never really constraint labor mobility and migration to the thriving business centers, but problems arise for the accompanying family members. The social security system affects the mobility of the workforce, because its lacks transferability of social security contributions from one corresponding regional institution to another. The establishment of a comprehensive system of social security remains the main goal.
Another focal point of the discussion was the handling of labor disputes. As Dr. Schucher elaborated, the system of German labor courts constitutes an independent legal process for the solution of labor disputes between employers and employees. The high degree of juridification of labor relations in Germany can also be seen in tariff conflicts between the union and employers' association. The process of conflict resolution leading up to a new tariff contract is precisely predefined and the comprehensive set of rules and regulations facilitates finding solutions. The new conflict law in China is focusing on individual rights, not collective, and thereby neglects the trend towards a collectivism in labor interests. It supports the enforcement of current claims in legal action, but it does help to not shape future work relations. |
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