East Asian Labor And Employment Law

This book deals with international labor and employment law in the East Asia Region (EA), particularly dealing with China, South Korea and Japan. It explores and explains the effects of globalization and discusses the role played by international labor law as it affects lawyers, business, labor, labor unions and human resource management, and the labor issues that can arise in dealing in EA trade and investment. The text, and the readings (from area experts), are organized and written to provide the reader with, first, a broad understanding and insight into the global dimensions of the fast-emerging area of labor and employment issues (e.g., global legal standards and their interplay with domestic and foreign laws); and second, to show how these laws and approaches play out in specific EA countries (comparing global approaches with the specific laws of each country on four common agenda items: regulatory administration, workers' rights, trade unions and dispute resolution). The book should be of interest not only to lawyers, students, human resource personnel and government officials, but also to business investors, managers and members of the public interested in the growing phenomenon of changing labor laws and societies in China, South Korea and Japan.

This book deals with international labor and employment law in the East Asia Region (EA), particularly dealing with China, South Korea, and Japan. It explores and explains the effects of globalization and discusses the role of international lawyers, business personnel, and human resource directors who are knowledgeable, culturally sensitive, and understand the issues that can arise when dealing in EA trade and investment. The text and readings (from area experts) are organized and written to provide the reader with, first, a broad understanding and insight into the global dimensions of the fast-emerging area of labor and employment issues (e.g., global legal standards and their interplay with domestic and foreign laws); and second, to show how these laws and approaches play out in specific EA countries (comparing global approaches with the specific laws of each country on four common agenda items: regulatory administration, workers' rights, trade unions, and dispute resolution). The book should be of interest not only to lawyers, students, human resource personnel, and government officials, but also to business investors, managers, and members of the public interested in the growing phenomenon of changing labor laws and societies in China, South Korea, and Japan.

This edited collection examines the labour laws of seven industrializing East Asian societies - China, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines and Vietnam - and discusses the variation in their impact across the whole region. Leading scholars from each country consider both laws pertaining to working conditions and industrial relations, and those that regulate the labour market as a whole. Legislation concerning migrant labour, gender equality, employment creation and skills formation is also examined. Adopting their own distinct theoretical perspectives, the authors trace the historical development of labour regulation and reveal that most countries in the region now have quite extensive frameworks. This book will be particularly useful to people interested in the place of labour law, and law in general, in contemporary East Asian societies.

Continued economic prosperity in China and its international competitive advantage have been due in large part to the labor of workers in China, who for many years toiled in underregulated workplaces. More recently, labor law reforms have been praised for their progressive measures and, at the same time, blamed for placing too many economic burdens on companies, especially those operating on the margins, which in some cases have caused business failures. This, combined with the global downturn and the millions of displaced and unemployed Chinese migrant laborers, has created ongoing debate about the labor laws. Meanwhile, the Chinese Union has organized many of the Global Fortune 500 companies, and a form of collective bargaining is occurring. Workers are pursuing their legal labor rights in increasing numbers. This book provides a clear overview of the labor and employment law environment in China and its legal requirements, as well as practices under these laws used to deal with labor issues.

The Labor Law of the People’s Republic of China, originally promulgated in 1994, has undergone many changes and continues to be subject to judgments and arbitral awards arising from disputes and such claims as breaches of labor contract and denial of benefits. This book provides most updated, detailed, and comprehensive interpretation of Chinese labor law issues, focusing on detailed analysis of twenty leading cases. The first part of the book describes in depth the role of labor law in Chinese society, elaborating on its development and its characteristic features. The cases that follow, each described in minute detail, thoroughly explicate the issues that underlie the dynamic growth of Chinese labor law, such as the following: establishment and identification of the employment relationship; performance, change, dissolution, and termination of the employment contract; determining atypical employment relationships; fiduciary duties; health insurance provisions; work-related injury; labor dispatching service; legal remedies—mediation, arbitration, litigation; labor inspection; legal issues on foreigners’ employment in China; violation of rights to privacy, human dignity, and equal employment; enterprise dissolution or merger; employer’s right to dismissal; economic compensations arising from illegal dismissal; and worker’s damages arising from illegal dissolution of the employment contract. The carefully selected cases span the full range of labor law issues, with perspectives from parties to the action, attorneys, and judicial personnel as well as the editor’s expert analysis of the legal principles, statutes, and case law involved. This English translation of a book published in 2016—the first to focus on labor and employment-related issues in China in a comprehensive way via case law—will help the international community to understand China’s labor law environment and its current achievements. It will prove of immeasurable practical value for practitioners, arbitrators, and academics, as well as for employers and workers with an interest in China.

​The primary aim of this book is to help readers understand the development of the theory and practice of labor law in China, and to familiarize them with major advances and remaining challenges in this field. The author also puts forward suggestions on how to improve labor law in China on the basis of an analysis of key problems and comparative study. The book can also serve as a useful guide, allowing HR experts at companies with Chinese employees or doing business in China to better understand Chinese labor law and regulations. It covers a broad range of labor law issues, including the meaning of labor relations, definition of the employee and employer, the duties of employers and employees, anti-discrimination, labor dispatch, minimum wage, termination of labor contracts, work injury insurance, labor inspections and labor dispute resolution.