Research on Crimes Infringing on Workers' Rights

Author: Sun Yanshan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-05-01
Features: The study of crimes in the labor field as a specialized topic has yet to be explored in China's criminal law. This is mainly because China's criminal legislation only explicitly stipulates the crime of serious labor safety accidents in Article 135 and the crime of compelling employees to work under the Criminal Law, as well as the crime of employing child labor for hazardous labor in the Fourth Amendment to the Criminal Law. From a legislative perspective, there has not yet been a systematic framework, thus limiting specialized research on crimes in the labor field. The discussion of these crimes is only found in general accounts of criminal law. With the deepening development of China's socialist market economy, reforms in the employment system, and the abundant labor resources due to China's large population—as pointed out by the National Labor Employment Conference—labor employment pressure will remain a long-term strategic issue in China. The state has implemented long-term strategies and policies to promote employment, which is a fundamental aspect of China's national conditions. On the other hand, we must note that in the context of a labor market where supply exceeds demand overall, labor-related issues are becoming increasingly diverse and complex, with more conflicts between the interests of labor and capital, and the potential for violations of workers' legitimate rights and interests is on the rise. Traditional administrative, economic, and civil measures for handling such issues are increasingly shown to be insufficient in ensuring protection, especially for intentional violations. Therefore, theoretical attention should be given to this area, and lawmakers should be alerted at an early stage, which is a social responsibility for legal professionals. In 2004, the author, inspired by the above content, applied for a research project from the Hebei Provincial Social Science Planning Office. After extensive collection of materials and research, through various discussions and exchanges, a relatively consensus view was eventually reached.
(1) The involvement of criminal law in the protection of workers' rights is a common choice in countries around the world today and has also opened up new horizons for criminal law theoretical research. The entry of criminal law into the field of workers' rights protection is a natural outcome of social development at a certain historical stage and a sign of human civilization's progress. However, which aspects of workers' rights can enter the regulatory scope of criminal law depends not only on the general definition of labor rights but also largely on the degree to which members of society respect and recognize labor. China has entered the stage of comprehensively building a moderately prosperous society, and respecting labor and seeking coordinated development between humans and nature, as well as among people themselves, have become the strong voice of the era. Appropriately expanding the scope of the Criminal Law to protect workers' rights and increasing the intensity of protection are important manifestations of the "human-centered" philosophy in governance. Theoretical research in criminal law should also receive necessary attention, highlighting the "humanistic care" of the "strict" criminal law in academia.
(2) Traditional criminal law theory has not, either macroscopically or microscopically, regarded workers' rights as the object of harm. China's Criminal Law is divided into 10 major categories of crimes, with the crime of disrupting the order of the socialist market economy and the crime of obstructing public order each further divided into 9 and 10 subcategories, respectively. The basis for this division of major or subcategories in the Criminal Law is primarily the classification of similar objects of crime, and the protection of labor rights rarely enters the field of criminal law theoretical research. Even for obvious violations of workers' personal safety, such as the crime of serious labor safety accidents and the crime of compelling employees to work, they are primarily explained from the perspectives of public safety or personal freedom, lacking an understanding of the subjects of the social relationships protected by criminal law—the workers.
(3) Legal research should provide strong theoretical support for judicial practice and implement the principle of criminal law's legality in criminal law. The adjudication of many serious violations of workers' legitimate rights and interests in real life has long puzzled judicial authorities. Some behaviors, from the perspective of social harm, have reached the level of a crime or even exceeded it, but it is difficult to find corresponding legal provisions in terms of criminal illegality. In such cases, judicial authorities face a conflict between emotion and law, often substituting emotion for law. From a social perspective, this may yield positive results, but from the perspective of legal provisions, it may violate the principle of criminal legality. This is due to both the ambiguity of legislative provisions or the lack of clear stipulations, as well as negligence during the process of academic research. The research in this book aims to delve into the criteria for distinguishing between criminal and non-criminal violations of workers' legitimate rights and interests, effectively implementing the principle of criminal legality, and further urging lawmakers to accelerate the development of criminal legal systems in the labor field.
(4) The research in this book provides moral care for socially vulnerable groups, reflecting the humanistic nature of legal research. Everyone is either a potential or actual laborer, even if they have lost their ability to work due to age, they have all made contributions to this society. When disputes arise over workers' legitimate rights and interests, we should be more inclined toward the workers. For the vast majority of people, labor is a necessity for survival. We cannot let workers shed tears that should not be shed while sweating for their livelihood, especially for socially vulnerable groups. It is hoped that the publication of this book can fill the gap in China's criminal law in this area and contribute a small part of a legal professional's efforts to enrich the research on criminal law in China.