THE RIGHT TO EMPLOYMENT SECURITY IN CHINESE LABOR LAW：LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN LIGHT OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

Abstract

Employment security is very often examined from a labor law rather than a human rights perspective. This article looks at the employment security in Chinese labor law from a human rights perspective. The right to employment security includes both negative and positive aspects: a negative right to protection against unfair dismissal, including dismissal for cause and economic redundancy, and a positive right to employment stability. Comparing Chinese labor law with international standards, this article focuses on analyzing important changes in the legislative developments in China in the past years, such as severance pay, labor contract with indefinite duration, and labor dispatching. This article also points out the main deficiencies, such as dismissal on the ground of criminal liabilities, weakness of trade unions and law enforcement, and no exemption of small employers. The article concludes with observing a tendency of Chinese law getting closer to international standards and pointing out the approach China should follow: to enhance employability through vocational training and providing better social security when strengthening the legislative protection of employment security.

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2014 Higher Education Press and Thomson Reuters