The Impact of the China New Labour Law on Industries and Labour Income Dissertation

The Impact of the China New Labour Law on Industries and Labour Income - Dissertation Example Some of the famous labour scholars such as Professor Chang Kai, Professor Wong Liu, lawyer Jiang Jun Lu publicly argued that the fixed term contract regulations contained in the Labour Law are necessary for protecting workers from indiscriminate termination of employment. Economists such as; the world famous economist Professor Steven N.S. Cheung and Professor Wong Yijiang, as well as labour expert Professor Dong Baohua and Law Professor Ho Bing, argued that welfare protection compromises enterprise protection and the ability of employees to be mobile (Blanpain and Nakakubo 2010, 66). The financial crisis did not help matters. Faced with struggling to keep businesses afloat and the prospect of liability for increased employee security under China’s New Labour Law, a number of businesses reportedly closed their doors. Other companies reportedly liquidated their assets to avoid compensatory damages against employee claims under the new law (Canaves 2009, A6). This research study conducts a critical analysis of China’s New Labour Law 2008 and its consequences for industries and labour income. In order to set the framework for this critical analysis, a descriptive research is conducted which reflects the economic developments in China over the past thirty years. This period is important because it covers the economic policies of Dang Xiao Ping who opened China’s markets to the rest of the world ending a long history of isolation. In the course of conducting this descriptive research, changes in the income of urban dwellers and rural farmers will be revealed. This will help to set a conceptual framework for analysing the necessity and aims of the New Labour Law and its actual and likely consequences for industries and workers’ income. This research takes a mixed methods approach in that both qualitative and quantitative research analyses are conducted. The qualitative research methods involves a review of the literature relative to Chinaà ¢â‚¬â„¢s economic development, the labour market and the implementation of China’s Labour Law 2008. The quantitative research methods consist of an empirical research study conducted. The empirical research study consist of a series of personal interviews of 100 workers and five owners of divergent sized factories. Evidence obtained from these interviews are compared to the evidence relative to empirical evidence reported in the literature on the experience of labourers who work outside of China under different jurisdictions and their labour laws. The purpose of the interviews with workers and factory owners was to identify the influence of China’s New Labour Law on the income of workers and the adjustment that businesses were compelled to make as a result of the New Labour Law. Research findings indicate that China’s New Labour Contract Law has had a substantial negative impact on the cost of manufacturing and has negative impact on the benefits intended for wo rkers. Acknowledgements. I would like to thank my tutor, Mr. Abel Khoo for his assistance. Mr. Khoo identified my errors and provided valuable advice for correcting them. He also provided valuable advice as to properly identifying the issues and the organizing the relevant material. Mr. Khoo also helped me to organize the design of this research thesis. I am also grateful to the five owners of the factories who willingly