From openDemocracy:
The third reading of the draft “labour-contract law” at the National People’s Congress (NPC) in Beijing on 5-16 March 2007 has set in motion some important changes. In particular, a law whose goal is further to protect workers’ rights will affect the lives of millions upon millions of Chinese employees.
A decade or so ago, the passage of such a law would have been a relatively simple matter. A draft would have been drawn up by legal experts under the direction of the government, which would subsequently have been passed by the NPC; there would have been next to no real debate. Today such lax legislative practice is all but history, after the enactment of laws relating to every class and interest group in society, often accompanied by fierce debate and political infighting. [Full Text]
