Infringements on the Labor Rights of Women Workers: Causes and Countermeasures

Abstract

Transformation of the economic system has, without a doubt, provided the conditions and means for women to give full play to their personal worth and win greater independence and autonomy in employment. We cannot, however, ignore a worrisome reality, namely, that change in the system has triggered social problems and most obviously has caused infringements on the legal rights of women. For example, women have difficulty finding employment, and their high rate of unemployment is still following an upward trend. Some enterprises and government departments ignore the law and give different remuneration based on gender or assign women to handle poisonous and harmful materials. Some enterprises either stop or reduce pay to women on maternity leave, and some enterprises and departments do not reimburse medical expenses incurred during pregnancy and childbirth, leaving it all to be borne by the individual. There are also numerous instances of arbitrary reduction of the wages of pregnant women, and even using pregnancy as a reason for terminating labor contracts. Some enterprises do not reduce work quotas during the period when women are breastfeeding, requiring them to continue to work night shifts and carry out prohibited labor. Some women workers in Chinese-foreign joint ventures, jointly managed enterprises, and foreign-funded enterprises do highly laborintensive work in appalling work environments, yet receive very low wages. Restrictions are imposed on their legitimate rights to rest and recreation. Some women workers also have to deal with flirtation and sexual harassment from their bosses. If they do not submit, they are likely to be fired. Their labor rights and the benefits they should receive can be stripped away from them at any time and for no reason. Further, it is a common occurrence for women to be forced into sexual service work by employers who had pretended to be recruiting legitimate workers. In rural enterprises, and private enterprises, women workers' special rights and interests are even harder to safeguard. The high proportion of females among the employees removed from state-run and collective enterprises is not entirely a result of the infringement of rights, but it is an objective reality that simplifying structures and optimizing labor allocation have been used as excuses to exclude women.