Lawsuits involving employment disputes increased dramatically in the first ten months of this year following the enactment of the new Labor Contract law at the beginning of the year.

In a forum on China Social Law held last Sunday November 16, Xie Zengyi, Deputy Professor of the Institute of Law of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), revealed that by the end of October labor arbitration institutes in Beijing had received about 48,000 disputes, registering a year-on-year growth of 150 percent.

“Although we haven’t got the full statistics, the number of lawsuits relating to Labor Contract Law has increased compared with last year in the same period,” said Mr. Wang, an official from Beijing’s No.1 Intermediate People’s Court.

Wang Quanxing, Professor of the Law School of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, said: “The Labor Contract Law was issued to protect the interests of vulnerable parties in labor relationships, especially in a period when global economic crisis is worsening.”

According to Xie, law enforcement agencies should conduct regular inspections to determine whether businesses are performing well and in accordance with the Labor Contract Law.

(China.org.cn by Wu Jin November 17, 2008)