Guangzhou government seeks to protect the legal rights of migrant workers

Asian Labour News, 24 July 2004

The Guangzhou government recently carried out a special investigation into protecting the labour rights of migrant workers. Some of the main recommendations are as follow.

First, employers must sign labour contracts with employees within a month of starting work, otherwise they will attract a punishment of between 30 to 50 yuan per worker.

Second, labour law states that overtime working hours must not exceed 3 hours per day (for a total of 36 hours per month),. Employers who break this law will be warned and fined 100 yuan per hour of overtime work per worker.

Third, the minimum wage for workers in Guangzhou is currently 510 yuan per month. If employers do not pay this, they may be required to compensate employees between 1 to 5 times the wages owed.

Fourth, if employers consistently pay wages in arrears for 3 months or more, the labour department may fine them between 5,000 to 50,000 yuan.