Labour Law of the People's Republic of China : Article 64

LAW DETAILS

LINK TO FULL TEXT OF LAW:

http://www.moe.gov.cn/srcsite/A07/s7055/201802/t20180214_327467.html

SUMMARY OR KEY PROVISION OF THE LAW

No juvenile worker shall be arranged to engage 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.

SUMMARY OF INTERPRETATIONS VARIANCE

N/A

LEGAL CONSEQUENCES FOR NON-COMPLIANCE

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. Management should have a list of all jobs and tasks that are completed in the factory. The factory should clearly identify those tasks that require the use of highly dangerous chemicals and those that require a lot of physical labour including heavy lifting.

Take Action:

1. When juveniles are assigned work in the factory, the list of all jobs along with hazards associated with those jobs should be reviewed before a juvenile's work assignment is confirmed.

2. Factory management should confirm that juvenile's are not assigned to jobs where there is highly dangerous chemicals or physical labour including heavy lifting.

3. If the factory allows for temporary transition in jobs for workers based on need and demand, management should make sure that juveniles are not temporarily assigned to any jobs that they are restricted from doing as stated in the law requirement.

COMMON CHALLENGES

Juvenile worker in the factory was assigned to work in a position with harmful substances. Factory did not establish young workers protection system and maintain the list of juvenile workers. Lack of training for the staff in the Recruitment Department who performs the examination and the line manager.

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 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: Hazardous Work and other Worst Forms

ILO COMPLIANCE QUESTIONS: Does the employer subject any workers under age 18 to the worst forms of child labour (including hazardous work, work at night, or work for long hours)?

Child Question: Does the employer comply with other legally required measures to protect workers under age 18?

SDG RELEVANCE 4, 8, 12

Mosaic ID: Mosaic24372094