Labor disputes threaten stability

The increasing number of labor disputes pose a threat to the country's social stability, a senior trade union official warned yesterday.

"Labor disputes have become more frequent nationwide in recent years," said All-China Federation of Trade Unions' Legal Work Department Director Liu Jichen at a press meeting Beijing.

According to the federation's latest figures, legal dispute arbitration committees across the country admitted 314,000 cases in 2005, up 20 percent over the previous year.