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More trial courts needed to handle labor disputes

By Qiu Quanlin (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-09-05 14:49

Legislators in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong province have called for the establishment of special trial courts to deal with an increasing number of labor contract disputes.

The disputes have soared following the implementation of the new Labor Contract Law last year and many company closures amid the economic downturn in the Pearl River Delta region, sources with Guangzhou intermediate people's court said.

The court handled more than 2,800 trials involving labor disputes in the first half of this year, accounting for more than half of the civil cases heard by the court, said Yu Mingyong, deputy president of the court.

The number of labor disputes heard in court increased from 2,070 in 2007 to more than 3,300 last year, Yu said.

Most of the disputes are related to back pay and appeals for compensation from workers who were laid off, Yu said.

"It is no surprise to see downsizing and layoffs in the delta region following the economic downturn," Yu said.

Labor arbitration became a free service across the country last May, which increased workers' awareness of their rights, Yu said.

"Judges are working overtime to handle labor disputes since we don't have special courts to deal with such cases," Yu said.

Ye Yucai, a deputy to the local people's congress, urged the local authority to establish the courts.

"Some workers involved in labor disputes have to wait a long time for final court rulings because there are so many trials backed up," Ye said.

Such special courts have been set up in Shenzhen and Foshan, two delta region cities also witnessing soaring labor disputes, Ye said.

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Guangzhou has a labor dispute arbitration office, but many disputes are turned over to the court after companies and workers fail to reach a settlement agreement.

In an earlier interview with China Daily, Xie Yingjian, director of the Guangzhou arbitration office for labor disputes, said the arbitration team will be expanded, given the current workload.

However, a deputy director of the labor relations office of Guangzhou labor and social security bureau, surnamed Wang, said the number of labor disputes will likely go down later this year.

"Many factories have resumed production following the decreasing impact of the global financial crisis. So workers are likely to get their back-pay," Wang told China Daily.