The Dispute Over International Labor Standards & Labor Problem In China

As globalization has intensified the division of the rich and the poor, laboring people that make up most of the global population have become the marginal and weak groups. Every country is confronted with a shared problem, namely, how to effectively protect labor rights in order to keep the harmonious development of global economy and society. Since China is undergoing her system transformation, labor problem has a distinct"Chinese characteristic". For the past few years, the unduly low labor standards in China have not only caused many trade frictions aimed at China, but also seriously affected social fairness and harmony, hindered the sustainable development of economy and society. The labor problem in China is an important part of international labor problem, so how to deal with the conflicts between employees and employers, how to protect labor rights and interests play a particularly important and practical role in solving the"issue concerning peasants, countryside and agriculture", developing economy and society sustainably, building a harmonious socialist society.Since the foundation of International Labor Organization (ILO) and the formulation of International Labor Standards (ILS), the relationship between labor standards and international trade has always been the central issue of North-South dispute. Now that the core labor standards are not observed commonly in every country owing to ILO's lack of executive force, the developed countries advocate bringing ILS into WTO multilateral trade system, which failed as a result of the developing countries'strong opposition. With the development of social responsibility movement, the whole society is paying shared attention to guaranteeing labor rights and interests, and SA8000 system is having an important effect on international trade. This essay will systematize and evaluate the trying ways to carry out core labor standards, and put forward the way to treat the challenge of ILS correctly.The point at issue is mainly about whether the relative predominance of cheap labor in developing countries will become"social dumping"to developed countries. This essay will analyze that cheap labor is legitimate means of relative predominance for China in international trade, but we should make full use of it on the basis of observing core labor standards and respecting labor rights and interests, because many enterprises are misusing and plundering labor force in the course of system transformation. Therefore, facing the challenge of ILS, we'd better not only insist on our relative predominance, not blindly heighten labor standards beyond the economic developing level, but also adjust to core labor standards, protect labor rights and interests according to laws. There are critically important meanings for the lasting and harmonious development of the economy and society in China.