Individual labour contracts have been widely introduced within enterprises in the People's Republic of China (PRC). Their development and generalisation have been a key element in a more general project of economic reform, aimed at replacing the traditional system of employment relations with a new system consonant with the notion of a 'socialist market economy'. This paper draws on fieldwork research conducted in mid-1999, including interviews with managers in seven enterprises in Beijing, Shanghai and Zhejiang provinces, in order to examine the practice of the labour contract system at the enterprise level. It focuses on the extent and significance of the varied forms of labour contract, their content, how they are negotiated and used at enterprise level, and their impact on employment relations. Labour contracts are designed by management in accordance with statutory requirements and templates supplied by the local Labour Bureaus. Our research confirms that labour contracts are indeed widespread. However, it also suggests that the form of the labour contract provides few clues to the practice within the enterprise. This undercuts the expectations — whether in hope or fear — that the labour contracts might be used as a lever for re-defining rights and benefits at the enterprise level.
International Journal of Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations