Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress to Amend the Trade Union Law of the People's Republic of China (2021)

Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress to Amend the Trade Union Law of the People's Republic of China (2021)

Order of the President of the People's Republic of China
(No. 107)

The Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress to Amend the Trade Union Law of the People's Republic of China, as adopted at the 32nd Session of the Standing Committee of the Thirteenth National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China on December 24, 2021, is hereby issued, and shall come into force on January 1, 2022.

President of the People's Republic of China: Xi Jinping
December 24, 2021

Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress to Amend the Trade Union Law of the People's Republic of China
(Adopted at the 32nd Session of the Standing Committee of the Thirteenth National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China on December 24, 2021)
As decided at the 32nd Session of the Standing Committee of the Thirteenth National People's Congress, the Trade Union Law of the People's Republic of China is amended as follows:

I. Paragraph 1 of Article 2 is amended to read: “Trade unions are mass organizations of the working class formed by employees of their own free will under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, and are the bridge and link between the Communist Party of China and the working masses.”

II. Article 3 is amended to read: “All laborers in enterprises, public institutions, government agencies, and social organizations in China (hereinafter collectively referred to as “employers”) who earn their living primarily from wages shall have the right to participate in and form trade unions in accordance with the law, regardless of ethnic status, race, sex, occupation, religious belief or education. No organization or individual may hinder or restrict them from doing so.
“Trade unions shall adapt to the development and changes in such aspects as the business forms of enterprises, the structures of the workforce, labor relations, and employment patterns, and shall safeguard the right of laborers to participate in and form trade unions in accordance with the law.”

III. Paragraph 1 of Article 4 is amended to read: “Trade unions must abide by and safeguard the Constitution, take the Constitution as the basic standard of conduct, focus on the economic development, adhere to the socialist road and the people's democratic dictatorship, uphold the leadership of the Communist Party of China, follow the guidance of Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, the important thought of Three Represents, the Scientific Outlook on Development, and Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics in a New Era, persevere in reform and opening to the outside world, maintain and strengthen their political consciousness, their advanced nature, and their ability to represent the people, and carry out their work independently and voluntarily in accordance with the constitutions of trade unions.”

IV. Article 6 is amended to read: “The basic functions of trade unions are to safeguard the lawful rights and interests of employees and wholeheartedly serving the working masses. Trade unions shall represent an......