Migrant Workers Can Sue Even Without a Labor Contract, Win Rate Exceeds 90%

(Reporter Liu Shuhong) The Beijing Zhicheng Migrant Workers' Legal Aid and Research Center today released an analysis report on the implementation effects of the Labor Contract Law and the Law on Labor Dispute Mediation and Arbitration. The report collected 865 migrant worker cases concluded and accepted between January 1, 2008 and June 30, 2009 by 16 specialized migrant worker legal aid agencies located across 15 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government) nationwide, with a total of 1,276 judgment documents, involving 2,592 migrant workers. Among the cases surveyed, there were 94 cases in which workers demanded double wages because their employers had not signed labor contracts, involving 271 people, with a win rate exceeding 90%.

The report points out that the implementation of the two laws has brought a positive impact on migrant workers' rights protection, manifested in an increased labor contract signing rate; diversified case types, with more workers' rights being protected; and an increased level of awareness of the Labor Contract Law among workers, among other things.

Data shows that recovering unpaid wages and work-related injury cases in the construction sector remain the two types of cases with the highest proportion among aid cases. However, the proportion of these two types of cases has already begun to decline somewhat, no longer accounting for an absolute majority of aid cases. Migrant worker labor dispute cases have expanded to more types, such as overtime pay disputes, disputes over termination of labor relations, and social insurance disputes. Whether measured by the number of cases or the number of people, the proportion of these types of cases is not low. In addition, three types of cases are new types that emerged after the implementation of the Labor Contract Law: demanding that employers pay double wages for not signing labor contracts; workers unilaterally terminating labor contracts and demanding economic compensation; and demanding economic compensation after labor contracts expire and terminate. In addition to the diversification of case types, in many cases workers were not claiming just a single right. Among the 865 aid cases counted, 322 involved multiple claims, accounting for 37.2% of the total. All of this shows that workers can claim more rights, which is inseparable from the implementation of the two laws regarding workers' rights.

Migrant workers' awareness of the Labor Contract Law has also increased somewhat. Among the 581 people surveyed, only 10.3% said they had never known about this law; most migrant workers knew about this law and believed that its implementation would be more conducive to protecting their rights. Judging from the attitudes of the respondents, most migrant workers hold a positive attitude toward the Labor Contract Law.