Research On The Problem Of Juvenile Labor Protection In China

Since the industrial revolution,insufficient protection of underage workers' legal rights has long been a general problem of society.These underage workers often work overtime,have night duties and engage in harmful works as adult workers do.These jobs unsuitable for their age not only reduce the chance of education,but threaten their physical and mental health.Under this circumstance,it is difficult to fulfill underage workers' rights to subsistence and development.With the continuous development of China's economy and society,the overall progress of nine-year compulsory education,protection of minor workers' legal rights has made certain progress compared with the past.But it's still seen that minor workers tangle with employers for damages of rights.Currently,China has initially formed a legal system for protection of underage workers,including professional laws such as the Constitution of the People's Republic of China(hereinafter referred to as the Constitution),the Labor Law of the People's Republic of China(hereinafter referred to as the "Labor Law"),the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Minors,(hereinafter referred to as the "Law on the Protection of Minors")and the "Compulsory Education Law of the People's Republic of China"(hereinafter referred to as the "Compulsory Education Law"),as well as administrative regulations and rules,the Provisions on the Prohibition of the using Child Labor and the Provisions on Special Protection for Minor Workers,for example.In recent years,social and economic structures in China have changed substantially.The existing laws and regulations on the protection of minor workers are insufficient to meet the needs of current society and play a role.Therefore,in case of labor disputes,underage workers often fail to protect their legitimate rights based on existing laws and regulations.Through the inductive analysis of 190 cases of labor disputes among minor workers,the author found many limitations of current laws on the special protection of minor workers.For instance,the minimum age for employment in the Labor Law is not effectively link up with the age of nine-year compulsory education stipulated in the Compulsory Education Law,the qualifications of some minor workers are not recognized,misuse of minor workers is still common,and some provisions in the Labor Law are inconsistent with the legal principles of minor workers' protection.To solve these problems,the author summarized a large number of domestic and foreign provisions on protection of minors and related literatures.It was concluded that to improve minor protection system of China,the conservative thought that only minors over 16 who are not students have capacities as labors should be discarded and so as the adverse provisions.In addition,the society,schools and authorities concerned should cooperate together to strengthen the supervision of damages to minor workers.Specifically,first of all,it's necessary to enforce punishments for damages to minor workers' legal rights and reward employers who protect the rights of minor workers properly by tax incentives.Secondly,it should be clarified that minors are not allowed for night duties.In case that minors aren't registered for the employers' fault,the establishment of labor relations would not be affected.Thirdly,labor rights and capacities of underage students should be admitted.When students practice or do part-time jobs,the labor relations should be identified so long as essential elements are required.Lastly,the minimum age for employment in the Labor Law should link up with the age of nine-year compulsory education stipulated in the Compulsory Education Law.The further one is sixteen while the latter one is fifteen.Fifteen-year-old minors and their guardian ought to have the right to choose work or school.However,15 to16 years old minors do not have capacities as labors according to existing laws and can't be protected by relevant laws.Consequently,the minimum age for employment should be justified and 15 to 16 years old minors who have finished compulsory education ought to have capacities as labors.