Unions to set up teams for worker protection

Updated: 2012-02-23 07:31

By Zheng Caixiong (China Daily)

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GUANGZHOU - Guangdong's provincial federation of trade unions will establish a team of more than 10,000 labor and capital coordinators to help mediate industrial disputes and protect workers' legal interests this year.

"The coordinators will help local companies standardize their operations and improve management of workers," according to Yao Wenjun, an official from the province's federation of trade unions.

"In addition to officials from labor departments and trade unions, the coordinators will include experienced lawyers, experts and special personnel who have the expertise of human resources and business management," Yao told China Daily on Wednesday.

The special coordinators who are sent to irregularly visit local companies also have the obligation to promote labor laws and relevant regulations among employers and employees, he added.

The recruitment of the special coordinators follows a growing number of industrial disputes in recent years in the southern province, home to myriad foreign-funded companies, joint ventures and private firms, local media reported.

Earlier this week, a senior provincial Party official urged trade unions across the province to provide more legal aid to migrant workers from around the country in recovering their arrears of pay.

Zhu Mingguo, deputy Party chief of Guangdong province, made the remarks at the fifth session of the 12th congress of the Guangdong Provincial Federation of Trade Unions in the provincial capital on Monday.

"Trade unions in Guangdong should actively play a bigger part in protecting workers' legal interest and helping them overcome their difficulties," Zhu said.

Zhang Qingyuan, a researcher at the law research institute under the Guangdong Academy of Social Sciences, said trade unions should help workers further raise their poor awareness in safeguarding their legal rights and interests.

"Meanwhile trade unions should organize special training courses to let workers know the procedures and skill in safeguarding their legal rights and interests," Zhang told China Daily.

He urged trade unions at all levels to further improve the trade union system and help establish more trade union organizations among local companies to better protect workers' legal interest.

Chen Guocong, a migrant worker from Jiangxi province, said he expected trade unions could play a bigger role in protecting workers' legal interests as a growing number of labor disputes have been reported in Guangdong province, the home to more than 31 million migrant workers from around the country.