Labor Relations Under China'S Mixed Economy

In recent years, with the advent of China's economic reforms, particularly SOE (state-owned enterprise) reforms, the mixed ownership economy has been growing rapidly. At the same time, labor relations in China have changed a lot. Under the current socialist market economy system framework, the actions of state-owned and private enterprises are becoming more homogenous. Be they public or private enterprises, the intensification of labor conflicts has become a major obstacle to a harmonious society. Labor relations tend to intensify, and the conflicts more acute. In the past, we refused to admit or overlooked the complexity of this problem, whether consciously or unconsciously, when in actual fact labor conflicts have intensified in the whole country. Within the first quarter of 2007, there were 75,000 labor disputes cases involving 142,000 workers at all levels for the arbitration committee to deal with. In the long run, we must set up an efficient mechanism which can coordinate the interests of both parties (labor and capital), strengthen the management function of the government, speed up the construction of relevant labor-relation laws, implement the law strictly and abolish the old ideas of both enterprises and workers so as to solve the labor conflicts, establish harmonious labor relations, and allow the economy to develop in a sustainable, stable and harmonious manner.