Guangdong lawmakers are considering a proposal that would allow the province's migrant workers to directly negotiate pay rises with employers if a fifth of the staff at a factory backed such a demand, state media reported yesterday.
The All-China Federation of Trade Unions announced last week that it planned to pilot the collective bargaining system in 10 provinces as part of efforts to protect workers' rights after a string of strikes across the mainland and work-related suicides at Foxconn's Shenzhen plants.
The proposal, submitted to the Standing Committee of Guangdong People's Congress last week, says negotiations will be able to cover workers' wages, overtime payments, bonuses and general welfare.
However, it also bans strikes, the destruction of production lines and company property, the blocking of roads and factory entrances, and the besieging of bosses by workers demanding wage rises.
'Entrepreneurs should reply in written form within 15 days and hold negotiations with workers if 20 per cent of the staff from the company requested a pay rise,' the draft 'democratic management regulations for Guangdong enterprises' says.
The draft, first submitted to the Standing Committee for approval two years ago, was suspended after the global financial crisis erupted. But it appears to be on lawmakers' agenda again after a wave of labour unrest that has spread to many Guangdong cities and Shanghai, Jiangsu , Shaanxi and Jiangxi since May.
Acutely aware of the destabilising impact of labour unrest and worker discontent over low incomes, authorities hope the regulation will reduce the number of strikes. Mainland media have been banned from reporting on any strikes for two months because the authorities fear such coverage could trigger more strikes.