Workers’ rights are important parts of basic human rights. In recent years, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security has been working with the relevant departments and has introduced a series of policies and measures to stabilize and expand employment for the purpose of achieving the basic stability of the employment situation and protected workers’ rights.

 

First of all, the government implements the strategy of giving priority to employment and a more active employment policy. Conscientiously implementing the employment-promotion law, actively implementing various employment-support policies, providing targeted public employment services, all made it possible to continuously expand the employment scale. In the year of 2012 and 2015 , a total of 12.66 million, 13.10 million, 13.22 million, 13.12 million urban jobs were created respectively. The unemployment rate on record in urban areas was 4.09%, 4.05%, 4.09% and 4.05% respectively. The employment structure optimizes, with urban employment increased from 0.3468 billion in 2010 to 0.4041 billion in 2015. The employment proportion of the three industries turned from 36.7∶28.7∶34.6 to 28.3∶29.3∶42.4 in 2015.

 

Secondly, the government actively promotes the employment of key groups. The employment promotion plan and the enterprising program for college students were conducted. We carry out special service activities and promote multi-channel employment and entrepreneurship for college graduates. Combing the accelerated development of urbanization, we provide more employment opportunities for surplus labor force in agriculture. We actively support migrant workers back to hometown to set up undertakings. We conscientiously protect the rights and interests of female employees, set up the legal policy which prohibits sex discrimination in employment, ensuring that women could enjoy equal labor rights with men. We actively give support to the disabled employment and investigate and prosecute illegal behaviors of employing child labor.

 

Third，the government strengthens the vocational skill training. Focusing on establishing a sound vocational skill training system for the urban and rural workers, we constantly improve the policies and measures to carry out training courses for job skills, professional skills, entrepreneurship undertakings, and strive to make it available to workers who are new into the human resources market. We aim to provide every worker with at least one  skill training opportunity. Each place takes advantage of all types of job skill training resources and establishes job skill training base to provide more good-quality and convenient public services for the majority of workers. By the end of 2015, the total amount of skilled workers has reached 165 million, of which 45.01 million were highly skilled talents, accounting for 27.3% of skilled workers.

 

 

According to a basic requirement of establishing a comprehensive well-off society and allowing everybody the opportunity to enjoy the basic social security, focusing on the aim of the establishment of a more equitable and sustainable social security system, deepening the reform of social security system, we basically established the social security system of urban and rural residents to protect social security rights of workers.

 

First of all, we consistently enlarge the coverage of the social security system and achieve full coverage of the basic endowment insurance and medical care insurance. As of the end of 2015, the number of basic pension insurance for urban and rural areas reached 858 million, and the number of workers' basic medical insurance, basic medical insurance for urban residents was 666 million, and, when taking account of the new rural cooperative medical personnel, more than 95% of the population of urban and rural areas enjoy the basic medical security. The population number of injury insurance, unemployment insurance and maternity insurance increased rapidly, whose number reached 214 million , 173 million and 178 million respectively by the end of 2015.

 

Secondly, we steadily improve the level of welfare treatment. In 2015, the expenditure of national social insurance fund reached 3.9 trillion Yuan, an increase of 18.1% from last year. Continuous adjustment of urban workers’ basic pension level makes retirement benefits for enterprise retirees’ increase. The minimum standards of urban and rural residents’ basic pension increased to 70 yuan person/month, and all levels of financial subsidies for urban and rural residents’ health insurance level increased to 380 yuan person/year. Industrial injury insurance treatment levels continued to improve, for instance the initial formation of the industrial injury insurance treatment has regularly adjusted the growth mechanism. In 2015, there were 6.42 million people who enjoyed the maternity insurance. 2.27 million people have received unemployment insurance at the end of year. 

 

Thirdly, we actively promote the construction of social insurance regulations. Since 2012, we have promulgated a series of laws and regulations. We promulgated the Interim Measures for the Integration of Urban and Rural Pension Insurance Systems, which effectively solved the connection problem of urban and rural pension insurance system. We implemented Provisions on the Administration of Declaration and Payment of Social Insurance Premiums and Administrative Measures for Assessing the Work Capacity of Employees Sustaining Work-Related Injuries, and issued Regulations Concerning the Implementation of Industrial Injury Insurance. The reversion work of Regulations on Unemployment Insurance has made positive progress.

 

 

Building harmonious and stable labor relations is an important factor to protect the rights and interests of workers. We make efforts to implement the labor contract system, improve the coordination mechanism of labor relations, strengthen the enforcement of labor security, and maintain the harmonious and stable labor relations.

 

First of all, the labor contract system was fully implemented. We earnestly implement the Labor Contract Law and carry out the implementation of the special action to promote the performance of the labor contract signed in accordance with the law. At the end of 2015, the signing rate of the national labor contract reached 90%. The national enterprise community sector at all levels will work along with the labor union and promote the collective contract system and the rainbow plan. We focus on promoting the establishment of normal wages growth mechanism, and promote the synchronization of enterprise wages growth and economic efficiency and labor productivity. By the end of 2015, the number of current collective contract which took effect was 17.6 thousand, covering 3.56 million enterprises and 170 million employees. We guided the local adjustment of the minimum wage to ensure that the wage level of low income workers increased steadily. A sound system of corporate wage payment security was established. We established and improved the security system of enterprise wage payment , stepped up the fight against the behaviors of refusing to pay labor remunerations, and provided guidance for the local sector in establishing an earnest margin system. 

 

Secondly, we improved the coordination mechanism of labor relations. The opinions of the Labor Contract Law and Regulations of Corporate Downsizing were revised, introduced, and implemented. We strengthened the supervision and guidance of the labor contract system for small and medium-sized enterprises, and improved the quality of the performance of labor contracts. The regulations of management of special working hours were established and the standardized management was achieved. By the end of 2015, the number of community sector at all levels of approval nearly reached 72 thousand, with 15.6 million employees involved. We encourage qualified pilot areas to establish tripartite party committees for the coordination of labor relations, and further promote activities of harmonious labor relations .

 

Thirdly, we deal with the labor dispute cases timely and effectively. We improve the labor dispute mediation and arbitration system, and vigorously promote the mediation and arbitration institutions and teams. The national labor dispute arbitration mechanism adopts a simple procedure, a final decision, easy access and other measures to constantly improve the ability of dispute handling, for promptly and effectively resolving various disputes, and earnestly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the interested parties. In 2015, the labor dispute mediation organizations and arbitration bodies dealt with 1.721 million dispute cases in total, including 1.610 million resolved. The clearance rate reached 95.2%.

 

Fourthly, we strengthen the law enforcement of labor security supervision and enhance the construction of labor security supervision organization system. By the end of 2015, China has set up 3,291 labor security supervision departments, equipped with 27 thousand labor security supervisors, and 28 thousand part-time supervisors. The innovation of labor security supervision mechanism and management system were achieved. The level of standardization of law enforcement was improved. The supervision of provincial labor complaints and social security reporting linkage mechanism was completed. We effectively promoted the labor security supervision and law enforcement of urban and rural areas. In the year of 2015, 389 thousand cases have been investigated and treated.

 

* Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security of the People's Republic of China, conscientiously implements decisions of the central government and the State Council , actively performs their functions, implements a more proactive employment policy, strengthens the social security system, safeguards the legitimate rights and interests of workers, and has fully completed the objectives and tasks listed in the National Human Rights Action Plan (2012-2015).