Observación (CEACR) - Adopción: 2024, Publicación: 113ª reunión CIT (2025)

Convenio sobre la política del empleo, 1964 (núm. 122) - China (Ratificación : 1997)

Article 1 of the Convention. Policy promoting full, productive and freely chosen employment. Employment situation in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (Xinjiang). The Committee notes the detailed information provided by the Government in its report, including the reply to the Committee’s previous comment on the application of Convention. In this regard, the Committee observes that the Government refutes the existence of “forced labour” in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (Xinjiang) under the meaning of the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), ratified by China on 12 August 2022. The Government also states that: (i) the people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang have always been entitled to freely chosen employment without discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, region, gender, religious belief or economic status; (ii) the legitimate rights and interests of workers of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang have been fully protected; (iii) the vast majority of workers have the freedom to choose their jobs; (iv) their freedom has never been restricted; and (v) their rights concerning religious beliefs, ethnic culture and use of their own spoken and written languages have been fully guaranteed. In addition, the Government reports that under its guidance and based on national laws, regulations and policies, Xinjiang has introduced supportive policies and has formulated a series of autonomous regional regulations, based on local conditions to promote employment for key groups, such as workers facing employment difficulties, registered unemployed workers and rural workers. Furthermore, the Government states that Xinjiang has implemented a series of policy measures, including social insurance subsidies, vocational training subsidies and business guarantee loans, to provide a solid institutional guarantee for workers of all ethnic groups to enjoy their right to equal employment fully.

The Government further states that Xinjiang has created conditions for people of all ethnic groups to move freely and choose jobs in three main directions of employment: local and nearby employment, employment at another place within the autonomous region, and employment in other provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities. Workers have the free choice to find jobs mainly in three ways: (i) recommendation by relatives, friends and fellow villagers; (ii) recommendation by human resources service agencies and labour brokers in the market; and (iii) access to open and free employment services through public employment service agencies. The Government further refers to the sanctions imposed to more than 1,000 Xinjiang enterprises in the cotton industry, which have a negative impact and have resulted in business hardship or even bankruptcy for many of these enterprises and, according to the Government, even in “forced unemployment” and “compulsory poverty”. In this context, the Government refers to the visit of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights, from 6 to 17 May 2024 (document A/HRC/57/55/Add.1), who pointed out that unilateral sanctions imposed by relevant countries against China have a negative impact on human rights. The Government further expresses the hope that the Committee will take note of the misunderstanding of terms such as “labour management”, “relocated” and “labour transfer policy” in its comments. According to the Government, these terms do not contain any compulsory connotations that may be implied in the English translation, and they are expressions of market-oriented employment promotion policies with Chinese characteristics that ensure free choice and are specific practices in implementing active employment policy under the conditions of free choice of employment and jobs by workers in an open labour market environment.

The Committee also notes the observations made by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), received on 18 September 2024, which relate to the application of Convention No. 29 and the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) and which are also relevant to the application of the present Convention. The ITUC highlights that, since 2019, the Government has been using Vocational Skills Education and Training Centres and Poverty Alleviation through Labour Transfer policy measures as two systems of forced labour against Uyghurs and other ethnic groups in Xinjiang. The ITUC also indicates that, in February 2023, the Government indicated its intention to increase the proportion of “poverty-alleviated” labourers transferred from Xinjiang to other provinces and its goal was to transfer at least 1.087 million of this sub-group of surplus rural workers (a significant increase of 37.8 per cent in comparison to 2022 in cross-provincial labour transfers).

Taking note of the above and in view of the recent ratification of Conventions Nos 29 and 105, the Committee has decided to examine the above concerns essentially in the framework of the examination of the latter instruments. Under the present Convention, the Committee is examining these measures from the point of view of the obligation of countries to pursue a policy aimed at actively promoting full, productive and freely chosen employment. As regards the report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights mentioned by the Government, the Committee notes the statement made in paragraph 33 of this report that “considering the size of the Chinese economy and labour market, it may be surmised that unilateral sanctions and other restrictions imposed on Chinese entities and economic sectors appear not to have a serious adverse impact on employment at the macro level”. In view of the ITUC’s observations, the Committee urges the Government to communicate its response thereto, indicating in detail how the measures referred to in these observations comply with the core objective of the Convention requiring Governments to formulate and implement a policy aimed at achieving freely chosen employment, including free choice of occupation. The Committee also urges the Government to provide up-to-date and detailed information about the Poverty Alleviation through Labour Transfer policy and its implementation, indicating the selection criteria, and the number of the “poverty-alleviated labourers” transferred from Xinjiang to other provinces. The Committee further urges the Government to communicate comprehensive labour market data, disaggregated by sex, ethnicity, age and economic sector, for the Xinjiang region, indicating the size and distribution of the labour force, the type and extent of employment, unemployment and underemployment, as well as full particulars, including statistics, regarding vocational education and training, an area which the Committee further examines below.

Vocational education and training. Referring to its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that Xinjiang has improved the vocational training system to develop workers’ vocational skills according to their preferences. In addition, the Government states that it has taken various measures to help ethnic minority areas, and remote and impoverished areas to develop technical education, carry out vocational skills training based on the demands of the labour market, accelerate the cultivation of competent and skilled workers, and effectively promote full employment of residents, and economic and social transformation and upgrading. The Committee also notes that a skills-based poverty alleviation action has been launched based on a training model of “Skills + Guoyu (Standard Mandarin) + basic labour competence” to stimulate workers’ interest in attending training programmes, improve their employability and skills, and promote employment. The Government further reports that Xinjiang plans to organize a vocational upskilling campaign during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021–2025) to comprehensively enhance the vocational skills of more than 7.5 million participants, their employability, and entrepreneurial ability.

While it takes due note of this information, the Committee notes with regret that the Government’s report does not provide the previously requested information concerning: (i) whether immediate measures have been taken to ensure that the vocational training and education programmes that form part of the Government’s poverty alleviation activities focused in Xinjiang are mainstreamed and delivered in publicly accessible institutions so that all segments of the population may benefit from these services on an equal basis, to enhance their access to full, productive and freely chosen employment and decent work; and (ii) the nature of the different vocational education and training courses offered, the types of courses in which ethnic and religious minorities have participated, and the numbers of participants in each course, as well as the impact of the education and training on their access to productive and freely chosen employment.

In this context, the Committee refers once again to its previous comment on Article 1(2)(c) which provides that “the national employment policy shall aim to ensure that there is freedom of choice of employment and the fullest possible opportunity for each worker to qualify for, and to use his or her skills and endowments in, a job for which he or she is well suited, irrespective of race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin”. In its 2020 General Survey on promoting employment and decent work in a changing landscape, paragraph 69, the Committee noted that “the objective of freely chosen employment consists of two elements. First, no person shall be compelled or forced to undertake work that has not been freely chosen or accepted or prevented from leaving work if he or she so wishes. Second, all persons should have the opportunity to acquire qualifications and to use their skills and endowments free from any discrimination.” The Committee refers in this respect to its pending comments on the application of the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111). In addition, the Committee recalls that the prevention and prohibition of compulsory labour are conditions that are sine qua non of freedom of choice of employment (see 2020 General Survey, paragraph 70).

The Committee therefore once again urges the Government to provide detailed information with respect to the issues mentioned above, as well as copies of any supportive legal or policy documents, and the regulations adopted in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (Xinjiang) to promote both productive and freely chosen employment, including free choice of occupation, and effectively prevent all forms of forced or compulsory labour. In addition, the Committee urges the Government to provide more detailed and up-to-date information about the training model of “Skills + Guoyu (Standard Mandarin) + basic labour competence” and about specific programmes and vocational courses that have been adopted in order to implement the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021–2025).

The Committee once again requests the Government to take immediate measures to ensure that the vocational training and education programmes that form part of its poverty alleviation activities focused in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (Xinjiang) are mainstreamed and delivered in publicly accessible institutions, so that all segments of the population may benefit from these services on an equal basis, with a view to enhancing their access to full, productive and freely chosen employment and decent work.

It also reiterates its request to the Government to provide detailed information on the nature of the different vocational education and training courses offered, the types of courses in which ethnic and religious minorities have participated, and the numbers of participants in each course, as well as the impact of the education and training on their access to freely chosen and sustainable employment.

Consultations on employment policy in Xinjiang. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that Xinjiang continues to improve the tripartite consultation mechanism on a wide range of issues related to employment, labour standards and wage distribution. In this regard, the Government states that regular meetings have been held to discuss significant employment issues. In addition, the Government indicates that the Regulations of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on Collective Bargaining have been strictly implemented, and nearly 40,000 collective bargaining sessions have been organized throughout the autonomous region, covering almost 3 million workers, with over 90 per cent of collective agreements signed among enterprises that normally operate with more than 100 workers. The Government further indicates that the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Federation of Trade Unions has, for a long time, been actively tracking the implementation of the Labour Law and the Labour Contract Law, comprehensively monitoring the conclusion of labour contracts and the protection of special rights and interests of female workers, helping and guiding workers to sign labour contracts with enterprises properly, and facilitating harmonious labour relations in line with the laws and regulations. The Committee notes that the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Federation of Trade Unions has established legal work centres to coordinate efforts to resolve workers’ demands and protect their rights, and multiple points to monitor enterprise labour relations situations, throughout the autonomous region. In addition, the Committee notes the information that the Xinjiang Enterprise Confederation has focused on stabilizing employment and protecting enterprises. It also notes that the labour and personnel dispute arbitration courts at all levels in Xinjiang have provided easy access for dispute and claim filing and have conducted conciliation and arbitration regarding labour disputes in labour remuneration, rest and holidays, occupational safety and health protection, and social insurance benefits for workers. The Committee regrets however that no information has been provided related to the manner in which the representatives of the Uyghur and other Turkic/Muslim minorities groups have been consulted, as the representatives of the persons affected by the measures taken pursuant to Article 3 of the Convention. Therefore, given the focus of the active labour market measures on the Uyghur and other ethnic and religious minorities, the Committee urges the Government to indicate the manner in which the representatives of these groups have been consulted, as required under Article 3 of the Convention. The Committee reiterates its request to the Government to provide updated information on the manner in which representatives of workers’ and employers’ organizations are consulted with respect to the design, development, implementation, monitoring and review of the active labour market policies being applied in theXinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (Xinjiang).

Articles 1 and 2. Formulation and implementation of an active policy aimed at promoting full, productive, and freely chosen employment. The Committee notes that the information provided by the Government related to the adoption of the following policy measures: (i) the Employment Promotion Plan in the 14th Five-Year Period (2021–2025), which aims to expand the scale of employment, strengthen the role of entrepreneurship in creating employment, improve the employment support system targeting key groups and provide skills training to workers; (ii) the Circular of the State Council on the Policy Measure Package to Stabilize the Economy (2022), which contains a wide range of measures and arrangements covering six areas, including monetary and financial policies, stabilization of supply chains, and policies concerning people’s livelihood in the post-pandemic period; and (iii) the Circular of the General Office of the State Council on Optimizing and Adjusting Policies and Measures for Employment to Promote Development and Benefit People’s Livelihoods (2023). With regard to these measures, the Government indicates that they, inter alia,: (i) provide policy support for industries and enterprises that are capable of creating more jobs; (ii) encourage financial institutions to provide services and provide loans to businesses; (iii) use the multiplier effect of entrepreneurship in boosting employment; (iv) support vocational training; and (v) extend the period of unemployment insurance refund coverage. Regarding the focus of the employment, economic and social development policies, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that it attaches great importance to key groups such as young persons, women, migrant workers, persons with disabilities and rural workers. The Committee further notes that the Government indicates that it has implemented a coordinated regional development strategy based on the orderly transfer of capital-, technology- and labour-intensive industries from the eastern region to the central and the western regions and from large cities to the hinterland. It notes the information provided by the Government in response to its previous comment related to the coordination of the employment policy objectives of the Five-Year Plan (2016–2020) on promoting employment with other economic and social policies. In this regard, the Government indicates that in accordance with this Plan, it has made efforts to further improve the macro policy system to stabilize and expand employment, to better meet the demand for manpower and talent in economic and social development, and to expand the supply of employment and entrepreneurship services at multiple levels.

However, the Committee notes that the Government has once again not provided the information previously requested, including disaggregated statistical data, to enable the Committee to examine the effectiveness and impact of the active labour market measures implemented and the manner in which they contribute to the achievement of the employment objectives set out in the Convention. While acknowledging the active employment policies and other measures undertaken by the Government, the Committee reiterates its request to the Government to provide detailed updated information on their impact – including statistical data disaggregated by sex, age, economic sector and region – in terms of promoting full, productive, freely chosen and sustainable employment opportunities, as contemplated in Article 1 of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether there was a monitoring and review mechanism in place relating to the implementation of theFive-Year Plan (2016–2020) on promoting employment, in order to incorporate lessons learned into the Employment Promotion Plan in the 14th Five-Year Period (2021–2025). The Committee further requests the Government to provide information on the nature and impact of the specific measures undertaken in this regard in the framework of the Employment Promotion Plan in the 14th Five-Year Period (2021–2025).

Employment in the rural economy. The Government indicates that, between 2012 and 2023, rural employment continued to decrease by 30.7 per cent, and its proportion in total employment declined from 51.1 per cent to 36.5 per cent due to rapid urbanization. As a result, occupations have shifted from agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fisheries to urban manufacturing and service industries (the number of people employed in the primary industry decreased by 30.8 per cent). According to the National Bureau of Statistics, in 2023, 63.5 per cent of employed persons were in urban areas, while only 36.5 per cent were employed in rural areas. In this context, the Government refers to the implementation of a series of policy measures to promote the development of modern agriculture and the county-level economy, create more employment opportunities for the rural workforce in local projects, and support sustained income growth for farmers. The Government also provides information about measures taken to improve the employment situation of rural migrant workers through various channels, a labour cooperation mechanism, regional labour cooperation alliances, and work-relief projects to support rural migrant workers to return to their hometowns and start their businesses in rural areas. The Government reports that, in 2023, the total number of rural migrant workers was 297.53 million, up by 1.91 million or 0.6 per cent over 2022. In addition, the Government indicates that these workers’ average monthly income was 4,780 yuan renminbi (approximately US$670), an increase of 3.6 per cent over the previous year. The Committee observes, however, that the Government does not provide statistical information on the impact of the measures taken, disaggregated by sex, age and region.

In view of the above, the Committee encourages the Government to continue its efforts to reduce regional disparities in terms of access to employment and employment-related services and to provide information on the nature and the impact of the measures taken in this regard. Noting that informal employment is generally more prevalent in rural areas in view of the disparities in economic development and access to formal job opportunities, the Committee also requests the Government to indicate the specific measures aimed at promoting formalization of the rural economy and decent work opportunities in this sector. The Committee further requests the Government to provide information, including updated statistical information disaggregated by sex, age and region, on the nature and impact of measures taken to promote employment and job creation in rural areas.

Article 1(2)(c). Vocational education and training. The Committee observes that the Plan for Boosting Employment during the 14th Five-Year Plan Period envisages the adoption of measures to organize on-demand training and targeted training. In this regard, the Government points out the adoption of the following measures: (i) the enhancement of the cooperation between colleges and enterprises; (ii) the revision of the national occupational standards; (iii) the development of new apprenticeship training for enterprises; and (iv) the development of training programmes with a focus on new sectors, new technologies and new business formats. The Committee also notes the information provided by the Government regarding the different policy measures implemented by local governments in the area of education and training, which include the Opinions on Enhancing the Cultivation of Highly Skilled Talents in the New Era as well as the Plan on Vocational Skills Training and the Plan on Technical Education during the 14th Five-Year Plan Period. Local governments have also taken measures to improve the lifelong vocational skills training system as well as the organization and implementation of vocational skills training. The Government reports that in recent years subsidized vocational skills training has been provided to over 18 million people annually. Lastly, the Committee notes the information provided by the Government regarding the collaboration with the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) and the China Enterprise Confederation (CEC) in the development and implementation of education and training measures. In this regard, the CEC, in collaboration with relevant institutions, has organized for relevant enterprises to formulate vocational skills standards by sector, and released six groups of standards, including the General Vocational and Technical Skills Requirements for Corporate Compliance officers.

The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide detailed information on the nature and impact of the education and training measures implemented on employment opportunities, as well as on the consultations held with the social partners in the development of education and training programmes that meet the needs of the labour market. In this regard, the Committee requests the Government to supply information on measures taken or envisaged which aim at: (i) expanding the curriculum to build students’ skill sets; (ii) establish strong links between vocational schools and industries so as to ensure a good match between training and job market needs; and (iii) ensure a smooth transition between vocational and academic education.

Article 2. Informal economy. The Committee notes, from the Compilation of information prepared by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, in the context of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review concerning China, held in January–February 2024, the concern expressed by the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) about the considerable proportion of workers in the informal economy who are de facto not adequately covered by labour and social protection laws; and its recommendation that China adopt a holistic approach in addressing the informal economy, to take all measures necessary to reduce the extent of the informal economy and to increase employment opportunities in the formal labour market (A/HRC/WG.6/45/CHN/2, paragraph 28). In the light of these concerns regarding the high proportion of workers in the informal economy and observing that transitions from informal to formal employment are generally challenging due to the diverse nature of the informal economy, which calls for comprehensive policy measures, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to facilitate transitions towards the formal economy and productive employment.

Article 3. Consultation with the social partners. The Committee notes that the Government reiterates that it actively consults with trade unions and employers’ organizations and fully considers the interests and concerns of relevant parties in formulating and implementing employment policies. In this respect, the Government refers once again to the establishment of a cross-departmental deliberation and coordination mechanism for employment promotion and labour protection work under the State Council, with the participation of multiple departments, trade unions and enterprises’ organizations. The Government adds that regular meetings have been held to discuss major employment issues, review policies and regulations and supervise their implementation. Local governments at county level and above have also established corresponding systems. With regard to the consultation held with the representatives of the persons affected by the measures to be taken, the Government indicates once again that it solicits opinions from the public through the internet and other media and holds press conferences and interviews. Lastly, the Committee notes the information on the employment-related activities carried out by the social partners, such as employment service activities organized by the ACFTU aiming to help migrant workers, workers in new forms of employment, and family members of disadvantaged workers to find work, and a national exchange meeting by the CEC in 2023 on labour relations, work and activities related to creating harmonious labour relations. The Committee observes, however, that the Government does not provide specific updated information on the nature, content and outcome of the consultations held during the reporting period. The Committee therefore reiterates its request that the Government provide specific updated information on the nature, content and outcome of consultations with the social partners and representatives of persons affected by the measures in the development, implementation, monitoring and review of active employment labour market measures.