Research On Wage Priority

In China's reform process of market economic system, there are all kinds of problems we have to face. Recently, it is prevailing for many enterprises to refuse or delay wages of workers in due time. As the final protection of workers'wage payment , wage priority has been adopted by many of the countries in the world. In order to protect the interest of workers'wage, there are also regulations about the wage priority in the Bankruptcy Law and Civil Procedure Law in China. However, those regulations are not well practiced due to all kinds of reasons. In order to protect the benefits of the laborers and promote the stability and harmony of the society, this paper tries to make a primary research through six related legal aspects of wage priority.First of all, the author begins with the significance of wage and then illustrates the reasons why wage priority should be adopted. The author thinks, workers'wage and their right of existence are closely bound up, and the profit of an enterprise is closely linked to its workers'labor. Moreover, in the relationship with enterprises, the workers are always in the inferior position, while there is a shortage of relief to their right as creditors. So either for the advancement of social policies or for the development of social economy, it is necessary to protect the workers with wage priority.The third part of the paper focuses on the scope pf the wages enjoying the priority. The establishment of wage priority is at the price of the interests of other creditors to some degree. Therefore, it is rational to set limitations to the scope of"wage". The author proposes that basic wages, wages for extra working time, bonus, allowances and subsidies are contained in this scope. Other wages and compensations due are put into the category of ordinary obligatory rights.The forth part is about the effectiveness of wage priority, which is presented by the sequence of payment when conflicts exist. The author divides the conflicts into three kinds. The first is that when the wage priority conflicts with ordinary obligatory rights, the former prevails over the latter naturally. Second, when this priority conflicts with other mortgage rights, the order of payment depends on the public policy of the country, and the author suggests that the wage priority comes first. The third is that when the wage priority conflicts with other priorities. The author explains this question in two ways and comes to the conclusion that wage should prevail over special priority rights and other general priority rights except for the obligations of common benefit. The fifth part illustrates the realization of the wage priority. Firstly,the author analyses the condition of it. Wage priority can only be adopted when conflicts of different creditors'rights exist, meanwhile, the priority needs to be granted to wage directly by law. Secondly, the procedure of the realization includes application for bankrupt, declaration of credits and creditors'meeting. Thirdly, the exertion of wage priority should be subject to the order of chattels and then the real property, property without mortgage and then property with mortgage, so as to balance the interests of both sides. At last, there should also be a time limit. If such time limit expires, the remained wage obligatory rights are reduced to ordinary rights.The last part is the legislation suggestions based on the above illustration. First, put wage priority in substantive law. Second, promote the order of wage priority in the payment. Three, necessary limitations should be made. Finally, relevant social system should be set up.