Migrant workers increased by 1.5 million in 2008 over the previous year. XIN ZHIZHEN / FOR CHINA DAILY
Beijing's trade union federation sets aside 500 million yuan for 20,000 disputes
Beijing had the most labor disputes in China only after Jiangsu and Guangdong provinces, after it saw a huge increase in such cases last year, the Beijing Municipal Federation of Trade Unions (BMFTU) said on Thursday.
The city saw about 73,000 labor dispute cases in 2009, which made it China's busiest city for such files and which eclipsed most provinces - with only Jiangsu and Guangdong provinces seeing more, said Liang Wei, president of the BMFTU.
"For a long time to come, labor dispute cases will still happen frequently in Beijing," Liang predicted.
Last year's total was almost three times the 26,000 cases Beijing saw in 2007. The city had 49,000 cases in 2008.
Liang said the main reason for the spike was the rise in the size of the workforce in the capital in recent years.
The Beijing municipal bureau of statistics reported that the workforce in Beijing expanded by 1.5 million people in 2008 from its 2007 level.
Liang said another reason for the steep rise in the number of disputes was the fact that the authorities had been encouraging employees to safeguard their rights by seeking arbitration.
Such mediation has been free since May 1, 2008, when the Law on Mediation and Arbitration of Labor Disputes took effect.
The BMFTU has been working closely with two government departments since June 2009 to resolve disputes. Since then, 5,114 labor dispute mediation committees have been set up in companies.
The committees have tried to mediate disputes between workers and employers and have been on the front line of solving disagreements.
As many as 350 lawyers from 21 law firms have been employed as mediators.
From June 2009 to April 2010, 4,858 cases went to arbitration. Many of the files were disputes over money and 29 million yuan was involved. Of the 4,858, as many as 2,850 were resolved, a success rate of 58.7 percent.
"We are honored to offer our services to employees but the responsibility is also huge," said Liu Jun, a lawyer with Dongyi law firm, one of the mediators.
Since August 2009, his law firm has resolved 311 cases involving more than 3 million yuan.
Local petition offices and law courts have also been used to resolve labor disputes.
The BMFTU said it plans to bring in changes this year to ensure it can help even more workers.
"We will have five departments covering all issues related to labor dispute cases and the mediation will be more effective," said Zhang Hengshun, director of law department with the BMFTU.
Zhang said the organization has set aside 500 million yuan for legal fees and hopes to be able to help with 20,000 labor dispute cases.
In addition to mediation, the lawyers and staff involved with labor dispute mediation committees at local companies also help employees communicate with employers, Zhang said.
