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ILO and Child Labour Regulation in China – Prospects and Complexities

  • Chapter
Fundamental Labour Rights in China - Legal Implementation and Cultural Logic

Part of the book series: Ius Gentium: Comparative Perspectives on Law and Justice ((IUSGENT,volume 49))

Abstract

This chapter reviews the implementation in China of the ILO core Conventions on child labour, the Minimum Age Convention No. 138 and the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention No. 182. Specific features of China’s developing labour law system and related infrastructure are paid attention to, with a particular focus on the powers of local authorities. Although local governments may advance business interests at the cost of labour protection there are also experience and prospects of creating implementation tools through local legislation. This chapter highlights the need to strengthen the role of labour inspectors in monitoring compliance with the ban on child labour. The need to make some amendments to Chinese legislation in order to make it fully meet the requirements of the ILO child labour Conventions is also discussed. The chapter identifies and considers steps in China towards more effective implementation of the ILO core Conventions on child labour, also supported by ILO activities.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    See ILO website on International Labour Standards on Child labour.

  2. 2.

    However, in the early years of the ILO tackling child labour was not a priority of the Organization. See Droux 2013, at pp. 262–267.

  3. 3.

    The ILO Director General affirmed in 2013 that the ILO will not meet its global target for ending the worst forms of child labour in 2016 because global progress in combating this issue has been too slow. See ILO Press Release, 8 October 2013.

  4. 4.

    See Liukkunen 2014, at p. 169, where it is emphasized that in China “[i]mplementation of labour standards involves several different components that cannot be readily understood without familiarity with Chinese legal categories and concepts and their socio-economic context”.

  5. 5.

    China ratified the Minimum Age Convention No. 138 on 28 April 1999 and the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention No. 182 on 8 August 2002. See also Cooney et al. 2013, at pp. 144–145, where it is pointed out that the influence of the ILO in China is apparent in issues which directly relate to workplace standards.

  6. 6.

    At the international level, the ILO 1998 Declaration has contributed to acknowledgement of the linkage between the four fundamental labour rights.

  7. 7.

    See also Tapiola at Chap. 3 in this volume.

  8. 8.

    Minimum Age Convention No. 138, Article 2(3).

  9. 9.

    Ibid., Article 4(1).

  10. 10.

    Ibid., Article 7(1).

  11. 11.

    Ibid., Article 3(3); see also the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention No. 182, Article 4(1). On the other hand, defining hazardous work has been on the agenda of the international community since the early years of the twentieth century. See Lead Poisoning (Women and Children) Recommendation, 1919.

  12. 12.

    By virtue of Article 22 of the Constitution of the ILO member states agree to make an annual report to the International Labour Office on the measures they have taken to give effect to the provisions of ratified Conventions.

  13. 13.

    See also UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Concluding Observations, 2014 and UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Concluding Observations, 2013. The Concluding Observations of both Committees to China express concern for child labour in China.

  14. 14.

    See, however, the work of the ILO within its International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC), the largest single operational programme of the ILO, which aims to strengthen the capacity of countries to deal with child labour and to promote an international movement to address the problem. See further ILO website, ‘About the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC)’.

  15. 15.

    See Sect. 6.3 below.

  16. 16.

    See generally Trebilcock and Raimondi 2008, at pp. 24–29.

  17. 17.

    Both Labour Inspection Conventions of the ILO, that is, Labour Inspection Convention No. 81 and Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Convention No. 129 are relevant to combating child labour. These Conventions are regarded as belonging to the Governance Conventions together with the Employment Policy Convention No. 122 and Tripartite Consultation (International Labour Standards) Convention No. 144 by virtue of the ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization (2008). China has implemented Conventions No. 122 (Employment Policy) and No. 144 (Tripartite Consultation) among the Governance Conventions.

  18. 18.

    See Domestic Workers Convention No. 189, Articles 3(2)(c) and 4, and Preamble.

  19. 19.

    See [Labour Law of the People’s Republic of China] 中华人民共和国劳动法 (zhōng huá rén mín gòng hé guó láo dòng fǎ), 1994; [Law on Protection of Minors] 中华人民共和国未成年人保护法 (zhōng huá rén mín gòng hé guó wèi chéng nián rén bǎo hù fǎ), 1991; [Provisions on the Prohibition of Using Child Labour] 禁止使用童工规定 (jìn zhǐ shǐ yòng tóng gōng guī dìng), State Council, 2002. The Provisions on the Prohibition of Using Child Labour of 2002 followed the earlier Provisions on the Prohibition of Using Child Labour of 1991, which are now expired.

  20. 20.

    [Labour Law of the People’s Republic of China] 中华人民共和国劳动法 (zhōng huá rén mín gòng hé guó láo dòng fǎ), 1994, Article 15.

  21. 21.

    [Law on Protection of Minors] 中华人民共和国未成年人保护法 (zhōng huá rén mín gòng hé guó wèi chéng nián rén bǎo hù fǎ), 1991, Article 38.

  22. 22.

    Ibid.

  23. 23.

    [Provisions on the Prohibition of Using Child Labour] 禁止使用童工规定 (jìn zhǐ shǐ yòng tóng gōng guī dìng), 2002, Article 7.

  24. 24.

    See ILO CEACR Direct Request, Minimum Age Convention – China, 2008.

  25. 25.

    [Regulations on Strengthening and Improving the Training Work of Apprentices] 关于加强和改进学徒培训工作的规定 (guān yú jiā qiáng hé gǎi jìn xué tú péi xùn gōng zuò de guī dìng), 1981, Article 1.

  26. 26.

    See ILO CEACR Direct Request, Minimum Age Convention – China, 2010a; see also Brown 2012, at p. 490.

  27. 27.

    See the observations of the ITUC reported by ILO CEACR Observation, Minimum Age Convention – China, 2010.

  28. 28.

    [Provisions on the Prohibition of Using Child Labour] 禁止使用童工规定 (jìn zhǐ shǐ yòng tóng gōng guī dìng), 2002, Article 4.

  29. 29.

    Ibid., Article 8.

  30. 30.

    Ibid., Article 5.

  31. 31.

    Ibid., Article 6.

  32. 32.

    [Regulations on Labour Protection in Working Places with Toxic Materials] 使用有毒物品作业场所劳动保护条例 (shǐ yòng yǒu dú wù pǐn zuò yè chǎng suǒ láo dòng bǎo hù tiáo lì), 2002, Article 63.

  33. 33.

    [Provisions on the Prohibition of Using Child Labour] 禁止使用童工规定 (jìn zhǐ shǐ yòng tóng gōng guī dìng), 2002, Article 6.

  34. 34.

    [Regulations on Labour Protection in Working Places with Toxic Materials] 使用有毒物品作业场所劳动保护条例 (shǐ yòng yǒu dú wù pǐn zuò yè chǎng suǒ láo dòng bǎo hù tiáo lì), 2002, Article 63.

  35. 35.

    [Provisions on the Prohibition of Using Child Labour] 禁止使用童工规定 (jìn zhǐ shǐ yòng tóng gōng guī ding), 2002, Article 6.

  36. 36.

    Ibid.

  37. 37.

    Ibid.

  38. 38.

    Ibid.

  39. 39.

    Ibid., Article 10. The amount of compensation is calculated under the relevant provisions of state employment-related injury insurance.

  40. 40.

    Ibid.

  41. 41.

    [Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China] 中华人民共和国刑法 (zhōng huá rén mín gòng hé guó xíng fǎ), 1979 (as revised in 2011), Article 244.

  42. 42.

    [Provisions on the Prohibition of Using Child Labour] 禁止使用童工规定 (jìn zhǐ shǐ yòng tóng gōng guī dìng), 2002, Article 11.

  43. 43.

    See e.g., Brown 2012, at p. 489.

  44. 44.

    See ILO CEACR Direct Request, Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention – China, 2010b; see also Brown 2012, at p. 489.

  45. 45.

    See ibid.

  46. 46.

    See e.g., ILO CEACR Observation, Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention – China, 2006b.

  47. 47.

    See e.g., Yunnan Province Women’s Federation et al. 2002, at p. 23.

  48. 48.

    The current approach remains fragmented and disorganized. See Harpur 2011, at p. 3.

  49. 49.

    The Protocol of 2014 to the ILO Forced Labour Convention No. 29 notes the linkage between forced labour and trafficking. Importantly, the Palermo Protocol (Protocol to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons, especially women and children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against transnational organized crime) which supplements the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime also concerns protecting victims of trafficking in persons, especially women and children.

  50. 50.

    See Yunnan Province Women’s Federation et al. 2002, at p. 21. The ITUC has made similar observations. See ILO CEACR Observation, Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention – China, 2010.

  51. 51.

    See Belser et al. 2005. According to the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, China is a source, transit and destination country for international human trafficking in women and children. Combating trafficking in labour poses exceptional challenges also because its cross-border dimension requires co-operation between authorities in different countries. See ILO CEACR Observation, Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention – China, 2010.

  52. 52.

    See [Law on Protection of Minors] 中华人民共和国未成年人保护法 (zhōng huá rén mín gòng hé guó wèi chéng nián rén bǎo hù fǎ), 1991 (as revised in 2012), Article 41.

  53. 53.

    [China’s National Plan of Action against Trafficking (2013–2020)] 中国反对拐卖人口行动计划(2013-2020年) (zhōng guó fǎn duì guǎi mài rén kǒu xíng dòng jì huà (2013–2020)), 2013.

  54. 54.

    See also Casale and Zhu 2013, at p. 10.

  55. 55.

    See Peerenboom 2002, at p. 256.

  56. 56.

    See ibid. and Liukkunen 2014, at p. 169.

  57. 57.

    For experience of innovative local regulation in the field of anti-discrimination legislation see Paavilainen 2014.

  58. 58.

    [Zhejiang Provincial Implementing Measures on the Provisions on the Prohibition of Using Child Labour] 浙江省实施《禁止使用童工规定》办法 (zhè jiāng shěng shí shī “jìn zhǐ shǐ yòng tóng gōng guī dìng” bàn fǎ), 2008, Article 5.

  59. 59.

    Ibid., Article 17.

  60. 60.

    Ibid., Article 6.

  61. 61.

    Ibid., Articles 3 and 4.

  62. 62.

    See Liukkunen 2014, at p. 168.

  63. 63.

    See ILO CEACR Observation, Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention – China, 2010.

  64. 64.

    See Peerenboom 2002, at pp. 13–15 and Cooney, Biddulph, and Zhu 2013, at p. 392. For local courts’ dependence on local administrative organs see Balme 2010, at p. 156.

  65. 65.

    ILO CEACR Observation, Minimum Age Convention – China, 2010.

  66. 66.

    See e.g., Herbert 2012.

  67. 67.

    For more details of these reforms, see Casale and Zhu 2013. The authors point out for example (at p. 38) that in 2009 the Chinese government introduced a national-level pilot project entitled “Twin Networks Management” in 60 cities nationwide with the aim of establishing an efficient labour inspection system to provide quality services to all employers and workers. The project was based on the experience of Shanghai and Chengdu. Three years later, the project was expanded to all Chinese cities.

  68. 68.

    [Regulations on Labour and Social Security Supervision] 劳动保障监察条例 (láo dòng bǎo zhàng jiān chá tiáo lì), 2004.

  69. 69.

    See also Cooney 2007, at pp. 1061–1062.

  70. 70.

    See ILO Decent Work Country Programme in the People’s Republic of China 2013–2015.

  71. 71.

    See e.g., China Daily (USA), 2013.

  72. 72.

    [Compulsory Education Law of the People’s Republic of China] 中华人民共和国义务教育法 (zhōng huá rén mín gòng hé guó yì wù jiào yù fǎ), 1986, Article 2: no tuition or miscellaneous fee may be charged in the implementation of compulsory education.

  73. 73.

    [Labour Contract Law of the People’s Republic of China] 中华人民共和国劳动合同法 (zhōng huá rén mín gòng hé guó láo dòng hé tóng fǎ), 2007.

  74. 74.

    Following enactment of the [Labour Contract Law of the People’s Republic of China] 中华人民共和国劳动合同法 (zhōng huá rén mín gòng hé guó láo dòng hé tóng fǎ), 2007, scholars have noted some early evidence of a sharp increase in the number of agency workers. See Gallagher et al. 2011, at p. 3. See also generally ILO CEACR Observation, Minimum Age Convention – China, 2006a, which points out that although the vast majority of Chinese enterprises do not use child labour some employers have used children as the solution for reducing production overheads.

  75. 75.

    See also FIDH 2013, at p. 24.

  76. 76.

    [Decision on the Revision of the Labour Contract Law of the People’s Republic of China] 关于修改《中华人民共和国劳动合同法》的决定 (guān yú xiū gǎi zhōng huá rén mín gòng hé guó láo dòng hé tóng fǎ de jué dìng), 2012.

  77. 77.

    See generally Gallagher et al. 2011, at pp. 2–3.

  78. 78.

    On experimenting with legal reforms in China, see Woo and Gallagher 2011b, at p. 380.

  79. 79.

    See Liukkunen 2014, at p. 169.

  80. 80.

    See Woo and Gallagher 2011a, at p. 6. The authors emphasize that legal rules cannot be understood as “self-enforcing” but there is a need to internalize them by those to whom they are targeted. Hilary K. Josephs, on the other hand, has emphasized the need for strengthening local institutions comprehensively. See Josephs 2009, at p. 394.

  81. 81.

    See ILO CEACR Observation, Minimum Age Convention – China, 2008 and ILO CEACR Observation, Minimum Age Convention – China, 2010.

  82. 82.

    See also Herd et al. 2010, at pp. 23–24.

  83. 83.

    See also ILO CEACR Observation, Minimum Age Convention – China, 2010.

  84. 84.

    [National Programme of Action for Child Development in China (2011–2020)] 中国儿童发展纲要 (2011 – 2020年) (zhōng guó ér tóng fā zhǎn gāng yào (2011 – 2020nián)), 2011; [Ten Year Poverty Reduction Programme] 中国的十年减贫战略 (2011–2020) (zhōng guó de shí nián jiǎn pín zhàn luè (2011–2020)); [National Human Rights Action Plan of China (2012–2015)] 国家人权行动计划 (2012 – 2015年) (guó jiā rén quán xíng dòng jì huá (2012 – 2015nián)), 2012; [12th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development of the People’s Republic of China] 国民经济和社会发展第十二个五年规划纲要 (guó mín jīng jì hé shè huì fā zhǎn dì shí èr gè wǔ nián guī huà gāng yào), 2011.

  85. 85.

    See e.g., China Development Forum 2013.

  86. 86.

    UN Human Rights Council, Resolution 26/9, 2014.

  87. 87.

    See for example the ILO Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy, 1977 (amended in 2000 and 2006), and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, 1976 (amended in 2000 and 2011).

  88. 88.

    See UN Economic and Social Council, Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, 2011.

  89. 89.

    See also Abdul-Garafu 2009, at p. 61.

  90. 90.

    See FIDH 2013, at p. 19; see also Banks 2006, at p. 90.

  91. 91.

    See FIDH 2013, at p. 19.

  92. 92.

    See also Lam 2009, at p. 237.

  93. 93.

    See also Kolk and van Dulder 2002.

  94. 94.

    See FIDH 2013, at p. 27.

  95. 95.

    See for example Egels-Zandén 2007.

  96. 96.

    See Kolk and van Dulder 2002, at pp. 266–267. For a case study demonstrating the problems of suppliers to improve their labour standards see Yu 2008.

  97. 97.

    See Kolk and van Dulder 2002, at p. 298.

  98. 98.

    The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has emphasized state responsibility regarding the impact of business on children’s rights by stating in its General Comment No. 16 (2013) that “the Host States have the primary responsibility to respect, protect and fulfill children’s rights in their jurisdiction. They must ensure that all business enterprises, including transnational corporations operating within their borders, are adequately regulated within a legal and institutional framework that ensures that they do not adversely impact on the rights of the child and/or aid and abet violations in foreign jurisdictions”.

  99. 99.

    See also Schömann 2012.

  100. 100.

    See Liukkunen 2014, at pp. 176–178.

  101. 101.

    See ibid.

  102. 102.

    See generally Peerenboom 2002.

  103. 103.

    See also Liu 2011, at pp. 234–236 and 264.

  104. 104.

    See Wang 2011, at pp. 24 and 36.

  105. 105.

    See also Brown 2010, at p. 5.

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  1. Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

    Ulla Liukkunen

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  1. Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

    Ulla Liukkunen

  2. Peking University Law School, Beijing, China

    Yifeng Chen

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Liukkunen, U. (2016). ILO and Child Labour Regulation in China – Prospects and Complexities. In: Liukkunen, U., Chen, Y. (eds) Fundamental Labour Rights in China - Legal Implementation and Cultural Logic. Ius Gentium: Comparative Perspectives on Law and Justice, vol 49. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-23156-3_6

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