Worker Protection
- Challenges
- Difficult transition period causing strain in labor relations
- Lack of experience in cooperative labor management relations
- WSI's Approach
- Demonstrate dispute prevention and conflict resolution mechanisms
- Conduct mediation and dispute resolution training
- Reinforce government's role and partnership with employers and unions
WSI helps governments enhance labor rule of law and improve compliance with internationally recognized workers' rights and labor standards. We offer dispute prevention, mediation, and conflict resolution mechanisms and train the trainer programs that improve labor relations and tripartite negotiations.
PROJECTS:
China: US-China Labor Law Cooperation Project (2002 - 2007)
Donor: USDOL
This project was the first bilateral cooperation effort in the labor law area between the United States Government and the Government of China. Two independent evaluations concluded that the project made significant gains and contributed to three important national policy reforms in labor inspection regulations, labor contract law, and labor dispute resolution law.
WSI led a consortium that assisted the Ministry of Labor and Social Security in fulfilling China's WTO commitments to increase compliance with internationally recognized worker rights. The consortium comprised of WSI, The Asia Foundation and the National Committee on US-China Relations conducted a series of education, training, and technical assistance activities to:
- Enhance the Chinese government's capacity to develop laws and regulations
- Increase awareness among migrant workers of workplace rights and the means to protect those rights;
- Improve labor relations through labor dispute prevention and alternative dispute resolution mechanisms; and
- Increase the use of legal aid services to workers and migrant laborers.
WSI strengthened China's emerging system of dispute resolution by:
- Developing and conducting a training program in mediation and dispute resolution techniques which was made available to all 31 provinces in mainland China.
- Improving the regulatory framework, considered a momentous achievement by the Chinese partners.
- Establishing labor-management committees in 15 diverse enterprises in Qingdao City to provide an alternative to formal arbitration and improve communication and problem-solving at the company level.
Data indicated a 20 percent annual decrease in the number of disputes in Qingdao during the past two years, while disputes increased by approximately 30 percent in most cities in China over the same period.