Chinese workers could lose social credit for switching jobs too often
- Zhejiang province considers plan to punish people who frequently change employers by downgrading their social credit score
- Idea provokes fierce backlash with critics asking whether firms who drive their employees to quit will also face sanctions
A Chinese province is considering plans to use the country’s social credit system to punish those who frequently switch jobs.
The plan, designed to promote stable employment, was disclosed during a meeting between officials from Zhejiang province’s department of human resources and social security and representatives of companies based in the city of Ningbo.
Jiangsu Broadcasting Corporation reported that a human resources manager from Yinyi, an industrial, trade and real estate company, complained about high resignation rates, saying companies wanting to terminate contracts needed to compensate employees, but there was nothing much they could do when employees wanted to quit.
The department’s deputy director, Ge Pingan, replied that the government would implement measures to address the issue.
“We will push for the establishment of a social credit system in the area of human resources, both for companies and for individuals,” he said. “If an individual is frequently resigning and being employed, then his social credit will have problems.”
The report said it would not prove difficult to implement such a plan because Ningbo’s human resources and social security department already had a “smart centre” that holds information about 10 million people based on their social security cards.