Recruiting in China

Chinese Official Says 'Mass Incidents' Involving Labor Disputes on the Rise

BEIJING (AP) -- "Mass incidents" by workers have been on the rise in China as they struggle to protect their rights amid a roaring, fast-changing economy, a senior national legislature official was quoted as saying in state media.

Yang Jingyu, chairman of the Law Committee of the National People's Congress, China's legislature, was quoted by the official Xinhua News Agency on Wednesday as saying the number of labor disputes had increased by more than 13 times between 1995 and 2006.

He did not give any figures or examples, and did not define what constituted a mass incident.

China's communist leaders have been struggling with a widening wealth gap as the country's economy takes off, with urban areas and workers reaping vastly more benefits from economic reforms than rural workers.

"With accelerating industrialization and urbanization in China, infringement on employees' rights are occurring frequently," Yang was quoted as saying.

Yang said only 20 percent of small and medium-sized companies and private companies have signed labor contracts with their employees.

More than half of employers offer only short-term contracts to keep down costs.

"These problems have made it very difficult for the employees to protect their lawful rights," Yang said.