Reading Notes: The Chinese Wage System

Abstract

These reading notes are based upon an initial close reading of an important compilation of documents on the Chinese wage and fringe benefit system previously unavailable in the west and entitledLaodong Gongzi Wenjian Xuanbian (Selected Documents on Labour Wages; cited hereafter as LGWX: date of original document: page number). This volume is over 700 pages long, contains more than 390 documents and regulations on wages and fringe benefits spanning the years 1949 to 1973, and was published in 1973 by the Planning Commission of the Fujian Provincial Revolutionary Committee. The introduction states that some of the documents were included for historical reference only, but most were still being applied in 1973 and thereafter. In this respect it is interesting to note that over half of the documents included were issued in the years 1962–65. Furthermore, although published in Fujian, the great majority of the documents (over 300) were not issued in that province, but by national authorities, particularly the State Council, the Ministry of Labour and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Some of the documents included, such as those on the 1956 wage reforms, labour insurance regulations, and holidays and holiday travel leaves, have previously been available in openly-published documents.