The second reading of the draft of the labor dispute arbitration law by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress which began yesterday is of significance to protecting the interests of laborers.

How well labor disputes can be settled has become an issue of magnitude to social harmony. The number of such disputes is increasing at the rate of 20 percent annually.

The legal procedure for settlement of labor disputes was formulated according to the Enterprise Labor Dispute Settlement Regulations and the Labor Law adopted respectively in 1993 and 1994. Arbitration is the first choice and a dispute can be brought to court if arbitration fails.

A labor dispute case can last for years if it goes through the entire process, and some employers take advantage of this mechanism to lodge a lawsuit to make it difficult and expensive for laborers to protect their interests and rights.

To better protect their interests and rights, the draft stipulates that the verdict in an arbitration will be the final one in some common labor disputes. They involve wages, medical expenses for workplace injuries, economic compensations, and pensions but the total sum of money should be lower than the wage for 12 months. Also falling into this category are disputes about working hours, holidays and social security as well as labor contracts in collective form.

This new mechanism with the arbitration verdict as the final settlement is expected to make it easier and cheaper for laborers to have their disputes settled. The draft stipulates that arbitration committees are not allowed to charge laborers who apply for dispute arbitration.

As disputes about wages and social security make up two-thirds of the total labor disputes, this draft, if it takes effect, will hopefully have more than 60 percent of labor disputes settled by arbitration instead of through lawsuits.

If so, a mechanism must be established to make sure arbitration committees work in an effective and fair manner so that the rights and interests of laborers can be well protected.

Against the clear-cut specifications about how laborers should be paid and provided with necessary social security, these disputes should not be very difficult to arbitrate. It will be the expertise and dedication of those in arbitration committees that matter. And we also need a watchdog to oversee how they perform their duties.

(China Daily October 25, 2007)