U.S. Department of Labor Supports USTR Decision on Section 301 Petition Regarding China

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) today expressed support for the decision by the United States Trade Representative not to accept a petition filed under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 regarding workers' rights in the People's Republic of China. Deputy Secretary Steven J. Law noted significant cooperation between the U.S. and the People's Republic of China on a number of worker protection issues over the last few years, and pledged to continue to work together to build on the progress that has been made.

"Over the past two years, the Labor Department has worked with the People's Republic of China to strengthen several strategic areas of worker protection: employment standards, migrant workers, pensions, and health and safety - especially mine safety," said Deputy Secretary of Labor Steven J. Law. "What we need is not more reports, but continued engagement by the government of the People's Republic of China on these issues, with active assistance from the U.S. Department of Labor and other agencies."

In June 2004, U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao and four DOL assistant secretaries visited the People's Republic of China. Four letters of understanding (LOUs) were signed by the DOL assistant secretaries with the host government, covering bilateral cooperation through June 2007 in wage and hour administration, private pension oversight, occupational safety and health, and mine safety and health.

As a follow up to signing the LOUs, the two countries have exchanged delegations of professional experts, best practices and information.

In addition, DOL programs have provided technical assistance to the government of the People's Republic of China to:

-- revise laws to strengthen worker protections, including labor contract law, dispute resolution law and a social security law;

-- strengthen the enforcement of labor laws and inspection systems, which contributed to the new regulations passed by the People's Republic of China in December 2004; and

-- strengthen the training provided to labor inspectors.

DOL projects have also assisted the People's Republic of China in reducing worker fatalities and injuries. At coal mines participating in a $2.3 million DOL coal mine safety project, the number of injuries per 1,000 miners decreased from 7.7 in 2003 to 2.56 in 2004. In the first half of 2005, that number was further reduced to 1.86. The number of deaths per 100 miners decreased from 0.15 in 2003 to 0.01 in 2004 and to 0.004 in the first half of 2005. Also, among migrant workers in a DOL rule of law project, the percentage of workers able to identify three or more workplace rights increased to 96 percent in the first quarter of 2006 from 23 percent in 2005. During the same period, 99 percent were able to identify at least one place to go for legal assistance, up from 12 percent in 2005.

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Fact Sheet

U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of International Labor Affairs

July 2006

United States Department of Labor -- Engagement with the People's Republic of China

I. U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Funded Projects in the People's Republic of China

-- A $2.3 million coal mine safety project (2002 to 2007), which helps the People's Republic of China improve worker safety and worker safety law enforcement in coal mines.

-- A $4.1 million labor rule of law project (2002 to 2007), which focuses on the improvement of labor legislation and enforcement, the education of workers and employers about labor standards, enterprise-level dispute resolution, and legal aid to workers.

-- A $3.5 million project (2005-2009), which will provide workplace-based education programs on the prevention of HIV/AIDS. The International Labor Organization has completed the project design in collaboration with its Chinese partners and will soon begin project implementation.

DOL's projects have assisted the People's Republic of China in improving worker protection and reducing fatalities and injuries. For example:

-- At the coal mines participating in the DOL mine safety project, the number of injuries per 1,000 miners decreased from 7.7 in 2003 to 2.56 in 2004. In the first half of 2005, that number was further reduced to 1.86. The number of deaths per 100 miners decreased from 0.15 in 2003 to 0.01 in 2004 and to 0.004 in the first half of 2005.

-- Among the migrant workers in the DOL rule of law project, the percentage of workers able to name three or more workplace rights increased to 96 percent in the first quarter of 2006, up from 23 percent in 2005. Moreover, during the same period, 99 percent of workers were able to name at least one place to go for legal assistance, up from 12 percent in 2005.

II. Letters of Understanding

In June 2004, U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao and four DOL assistant secretaries visited the People's Republic of China. During the visit, four letters of understanding (LOUs) were signed between the DOL assistant secretaries and their counterparts in the government of the People's Republic of China, covering bilateral cooperation through June 2007 in wage and hour administration, private pension oversight, occupational safety and health, and mine safety and health.

Since then, the two countries have exchanged best practices, expertise and information through official visits.

-- June 2006 -- U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao met with Minister of Labor and Social Security Tian Chengping of the People's Republic of China in Geneva, Switzerland during the 95th International Labor Conference.

-- May 2006 -- Employee Benefits Security Administration Assistant Secretary Ann Combs received a delegation from the Department of Social Insurance Fund Supervision, Ministry of Labor and Social Security of the People's Republic of China.

-- September 2005 -- Vice Minister Liang Jiakun of the State Administration of Work Safety of the People's Republic of China visited the United States and met with Deputy Secretary Steven J. Law; Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) Deputy Assistant Secretary David Dye; and former Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Acting Assistant Secretary Jonathan Snare.

-- July 2005 -- Vice Minister Hua Fuzhou of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security of the People's Republic of China visited the United States and met with U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao, Deputy Secretary Steven J. Law, and Employment Standards Administration (ESA) Assistant Secretary Victoria Lipnic.

-- September 2004 -- Former OSHA Assistant Secretary John Henshaw visited Beijing and met with officials from the State Administration of Work Safety of the People's Republic of China.

Other Bilateral Cooperation Activities

-- MSHA and the State Administration of Work Safety of the People's Republic of China are actively engaged in developing competition rules and training materials in preparation for the 2006 International Mine Rescue Competition to be held in the People's Republic of China in September.

-- October 2005 -- Central and local government officials from the People's Republic of China visited ESA and received an overview of the U.S. labor laws that the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of ESA is responsible for administering and enforcing.

-- September 2005 -- MSHA received a delegation from the State Administration of Work Safety of the People's Republic of China, which observed the Carmichaels, Pennsylvania mine rescue competition.

-- August 2005 -- Officials from the Ministry of Labor and Social Security and provincial labor bureaus from the People's Republic of China met with ESA to discuss methods

-- of dispute resolution in the United States. They also met with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service and the National Labor Relations Board.

-- July 2005 -- Central and provincial level officials from the People's Republic of China visited ESA to discuss legislative processes in the U.S. related to labor laws and regulations.

-- December 2004 -- A delegation including senior labor inspectors from the Ministry of Labor and Social Security and provincial labor inspection officials from the People's Republic of China participated in discussions and training sessions with officials from WHD.

III. Progress in the People's Republic of China:

-- The government of the People's Republic of China is revising laws to improve worker protections. A labor contract law is being developed with the assistance from DOL's rule of law project; and the government of the People's Republic of China is also working on the development of a dispute resolution law and a social security law in order to remove inconsistencies among existing laws.

-- The People's Republic of China is working to improve its enforcement of labor laws and its system of inspections. With the help of DOL's rule of law project, the government of the People's Republic of China passed new regulations in December 2004.

-- The Ministry of Labor and Social Security of the People's Republic of China is working to increase the quality of labor inspectors and labor inspections. Materials for training inspectors, prepared through DOL's rule of law project, are expected to be in use in the spring of 2007.

-- The People's Republic of China is revising its dispute resolution system. The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service signed an LOU with the Ministry of Labor and Social Security in 2006 that outlines areas of cooperation in the area of dispute resolution.

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U.S. Labor Department releases are accessible on the Internet at http://www.dol.gov. The information in this news release will be made available in alternate format upon request (large print, Braille, audio tape or disc) from the COAST office. Please specify which news release when placing your request at 202-693- 7765 or TTY 202-693-7755. The U.S. Department of Labor is committed to providing America's employers and employees with easy access to understandable information on how to comply with its laws and regulations. For more information, please visit http://www.dol.gov/compliance.

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