Anger and dissatisfaction among working population in China: Report

An undercurrent of dissatisfaction and anger is being witnessed among the working population of China. There is anger among the Chinese working population over forced overtime by many companies in China, Ghana-based GhanaWeb reported.

Chinese workers have started expressing their anger regarding the issue on social media and criticizing their leaders for forcing them to work overtime and in many cases without any remuneration. The companies which are mostly accused of this violating labour laws are technology and courier companies, as per the GhanaWeb report.

Many companies have enforced overtime that goes late into the night on the weekend which violates a 1995 law that limits the work to five days. Workers are routinely defrauded of their wages and are fired if they attempt to organize a union, as per the news report.

The workers are forced to work double shifts and denied benefits that are promised to them. As per the news report, female workers are sexually harassed by their bosses.

Labour laws look favourable to employees on paper. However, most of the state-owned enterprises are found to be violating labour laws. As per the news report, an employee named Chen Moumou working in China Electronics Technology Group Co expressed his anger on social media accusing his company bosses of forcing him to work overtime during the Qing Ming festival.

After he expressed his reluctance for the same, he was asked to resign and eventually dismissed from the company. The CETC and state-owned media have refuted the accusations of overtime. They even refuted the existence of an employee named Chen Moumou in CETC and added that all these accusations and documents were fake and forged, as per the news report.

China has clear regulations on overtime work, rest and vacation. However, the rules are hardly implemented in letter and spirit on the ground. According to the Labour Law of China implemented in 1995, daily workers' hours shall not be more than 44 hours and emphasizes that "workers shall have the right to rest and vacation," as per the GhanaWeb report.

With regards to overtime work, the law stipulates that generally, it shall not be more than 1 hour per day and if it is necessary to extend the working hours due to special reasons, the extended working hours shall not exceed 3 hours per day under the condition to ensure the health of the workers. At the same time, the employer shall pay overtime pay to the labourer according to relevant state organisations if the former arranges overtime work.

As per the GhanaWeb report, recruiters often hire migrant workers at bus and train stations and promise them a good salary. However, the promises are often not fulfilled.