Dentons lawyer successfully advises manufacturers on two major strikes

In the past two years, the growth rate of labor dispute cases across China has gradually slowed down, but this does not mean that the contradiction between workers and employers has eased. Because labor disputes not only include disputes over rights based on laws and contracts, but also include disputes over interests through fighting for rights or reduction of obligations. Although the second type of disputes are not litigable, they are common types of labor conflicts and manifested by collective negotiations, strikes, demonstrations, and parades. The China Strike Map released by the China Labor Bulletin shows that in the past year (May 2017 to date), there have been up to 1,553 collective actions recorded in the country, the vast majority of which were related to wage arrears, low salaries, payment for overtime, etc.

In April 2018, a team led by Dentons Shanghai-based senior partner Anderson (Genwang) Zhang engaged in two large-scale strikes and achieved the desired results for the clients. One of the strikes occurred in a Belgium-headquartered group's subsidiary in Shandong Province, involving more than 40 operators, who demanded a 20% wage increase. After the first strike in March, the team led by Mr. Zhang was engaged by the client. They participated in the whole incident handling process: analyzed the workers' needs and the difficulties in the negotiation based on the local situations, provided advices on specific countermeasures, developed a schedule, drafted all the legal instruments, and negotiated and communicated on-site with the workers, etc.

 With the advice and assistance of Mr. Zhang, the company made a decision to offer a 12% salary increase and firmly delivered the message to the workers, while actively responding to unexpected situations such as workers refusing to return to work, gathering, and sit-ins, communicating with junior employees and team leaders for multiple times, and legally and reasonably taking disciplinary measures for certain employees. Finally, all employees involved in the strike accepted the company's plan and returned to work. The strike was handled successfully: under the principle of maintaining harmonious labor relations and mitigating the contradiction between workers and employers, the company satisfied the reasonable requirements of employees and ensured the implementation of the original budget plan and the normal operation at the same time. The client spoke highly of Dentons' professional legal services.

Besides, in April 2018, Mr. Zhang's team collaborated with lawyers from Dentons Fuzhou office and Xiamen office to assist a large electronics manufacturer in Fujian in handling a major strike, involving thousands of workers. The company is a global leader in the fields of LCD panels and display tube manufacturing. The strike involved many people, lasted for a long time, caused by complex reasons, and drew great attention from the local government. In addition, the employees put forward demanding requirements. Since the strike in March, the workers have repeatedly visited the local petition office, demanding the company to pay the severance allowance, pay arrears in social insurance and housing provident fund, and raise their salaries, etc. The Dentons team provided high quality legal services for the company – they developed the strike response plans, actively communicated with various government departments and negotiated with the workers. Finally, the strike was successfully settled and the labor relations were stabilized. The cross-office team's service was highly praised by the local government and the client. A few days later after the strike was settled, the First Digital China Summit was held in Fuzhou. Therefore, Dentons lawyers' efforts also contributed to keeping a harmonious external environment for the Summit.