Regulation on Labour Protection of Jiangsu Province : Article 31

LAW DETAILS

LINK TO FULL TEXT OF LAW:

http://www.jsrd.gov.cn/zyfb/sjfg/200901/t20090109_38798.shtml

SUMMARY OR KEY PROVISION OF THE LAW

No employing units shall be allowed to recruit juveniles under the age of 16. For juvenile workers under the age of 18, employing units shall not assign them in work down the pit of a mine; work that involves poisonous or harmful substances, work with Grade IV physical labour intensity as stipulated by the state, or other work that should be avoided. No overtime work is allowed for juvenile workers under the age of 18.

SUMMARY OF INTERPRETATIONS VARIANCE

N/A

LEGAL CONSEQUENCES FOR NON-COMPLIANCE

Article 6 of Provision on the Prohibition of Using Child Labour. If an employer uses child labour, the Administrative Department of Labour Security shall impose on the employer a fine of 5,000 yuan for one child labour per month. If the employer uses child labour in working places with toxic materials, he/it shall be given a heavier punishment pursuant to the range of fine provided for in the Regulations on Labour Protection in Working Places with Toxic Materials or a fine of 5,000 yuan for one child labour per month. The Administrative Department of Public Security shall also order the employer to send the child labour back to the their original place of domicile to their parents or other custodians within a prescribed time limit, and to bear all the expenses for the transportation and accommodation incurred thereby.

If the employer fails to send the child labour back to their parents or other custodians within the prescribed time limit though the Administrative Department of Public Security has ordered him/it to do so pursuant to the preceding paragraph, the Administrative Department of Public Security shall impose on the employer a fine of 10,000 yuan for one child labour per month, starting from the day of the order for correction, and the Department of Industry and Commerce Administration shall revoke the employer's business license or the Department of Civil Affairs shall cancel the employer's registration of civilian operated non-enterprise entity. If the employer is a government agency or institutional entity, the relevant entity shall give the administrative sanctions or disciplinary sanctions of demotion or removal to the directly responsible personnel in charge or other directly responsible personnel.

Article 68 of Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Minors. An organization or individual that illegally hires minors who have not reached the age of sixteen or minors who have reached the age of sixteen to do overly strenuous jobs, jobs exposed to toxic or hazardous substances or other jobs that imperil their physical or mental health, or to engage in dangerous operations, shall be instructed by the Department of Labour and Social Security to rectify and shall be fined. If the circumstances are serious, its/his business license shall be revoked by the Administrative Department for Industry and Commerce.

Article 23 of Regulation on Labour Security Supervision. Where an employing entity has any of the following acts, it shall be ordered by the Labour Security Administration to make a correction, and be imposed upon a fine of no less than 1,000 Yuan but no more than 5,000 Yuan for each aggrieved labourer:

Arranging underage labourers to undertake work under wells at mines, poisonous or harmful work, work with Grade IV physical labour intensity as prescribed by the state, or any other labour that the state prohibits.

IMPLEMENTATION AND IMPROVEMENT GUIDANCE

COMPLIANCE IMPLEMENTATION AND IMPROVEMENT STEPS

Evaluate The Condition:

1. Identify all the information that is collected from a worker before they start work in the factory. This should include a review of application forms and any other new worker documentation that is required to be completed once a worker has been hired by the factory.

2. Review existing policies, procedures, practices (formal or informal) and responsibilities related to work assignments for juvenile workers.

Take Action:

1. Decide which information should be collected from workers before they start in the factory so that they can be assigned a job properly.  Information that is not critical may include ethnic status, race, household registration, religious belief, family status, and information on a juvenile's family. 

2. Information that is not considered necessary should be removed from application forms and other new worker documentation and should not be asked of juvenile applicants. 

3. Any other information that is collected from juveniles should only be used in an effort to protect the health and safety of a juvenile worker and not in a discriminatory way.

4. Create or update existing formal policies procedures that cover the job assignments and working schedules for minors and ensure that responsible staff understand the update requirements.

COMMON CHALLENGES

Lack of awareness around juvenile restriction issues and the law with regards to recruitment and job assignments

The factory may have limited human resources to dedicate to the task, financial limitations or constraints, or a lack of written programs and employee training that commit to performing the task to ensure compliance.

BUSINESS CASE AND/OR OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

 The law states that the health of juvenile workers must be not be negatively affected by work so there are restrictions on the type of work that juveniles can do.  This is to make sure that their long term health is not negatively impacted by any work they would do in a factory.

Failure to adhere to the regulatory requirements for young workers can result in high penalties. Penalties and criminal charges can be particularly severe for factories and management in cases where young workers are injured or killed in the workplace as a result of regulations not being followed.

COMMON JOB FUNCTION: Human Resource Manager

COMMON JOB, SUB-FUNCTION: Production Manager

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

 Nil

RELATED MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

Young Workers - Hiring, Medicals and Work Assignments

ASSOCIATED INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS

ILO CLUSTER: Child Labour

ILO COMPLIANCE POINT: Child Labour

SDG RELEVANCE 4, 8, 12

Mosaic ID: Mosaic40766617