How Should The Media Respond To The Increase In Labor Costs?

The labor contract law of the People's Republic of China will be formally implemented in January 1st next year. News units should conclude written employment contracts with all the employed staff and pay social insurance premiums for them. The cost of employment will rise substantially, which will have a great impact on the urban newspaper industry with a large distribution force.

"One year contract signing" and "last elimination" are prohibited.

This year, the General Administration of press and Publication (GAPP) examined the media reporters in Shandong, Shanghai, Shanxi, Henan, Hunan, Yunnan and other provinces. It was found that some of the competent newspapers were not willing to assume the responsibilities of employers but did not sign contracts with the hires.

Some reporters privately hired the staff, after being discovered, they said that there was only one stationmaster in the station. They often went out to interview, found someone to do odd jobs, did not engage in editing and editing work, and other reporters stopped to find help from college students, usually not to pay.

In some market oriented media, "one year one sign contract" and "last resort elimination" have been regarded as a good experience to inspire editors and journalists' "crisis awareness".

These "experience" will be regarded as illegal after the implementation of the labor contract law.

In the future, media employment will be faced with the following restrictions: employment can not be signed without written labor contracts; labor contracts can not be signed in a single year; the penalty can not be arbitrarily set; trial period is no longer a "cheap period"; dismissal of employees is no longer easy; labor dispatch will no longer provide enterprises with the possibility of evading risks; rules and regulations can no longer be decided unilaterally; arrears of labor remuneration will be faced with 50~100 times penalties; recruitment can no longer be charged for deposit or seizure of documents; the obligation to quit work can not be delayed at any time.

However, some journalists are doubtful whether the labor contract law can provide much protection for workers in practice.

"People in the law department of our newspaper study these problems every day. If they are bad for the newspaper, they will take evasive measures.

Besides, who will sue a newspaper? Even if you win, how much will it cost you?

A Beijing Metropolis Daily reporter said.

Urban newspaper employment costs increase, the biggest impact of the distribution team.

"What I am worried about now is that after the implementation of some new laws, the cost of employing newspapers will be greatly increased.

Coupled with the high cost of self issuing, the strategy of thick newspaper has increased the funding of editing and editing, and the price of printing and paper has increased, advertising diversion and vicious competition have kept newspaper revenues declining. The pressure of newspaper operation is too great.

A city newspaper chief told reporters.

For metropolitan newspapers, the biggest part of the cost increase will be concentrated on the distribution team.

At present, each newspaper has a large distribution force, many of which are thousands of people, some even up to thousands of people.

Such a huge distribution team, even if a small increase in employee benefits, is a huge sum of expenditure, thousands of people's social security costs will be tens of millions of dollars, many newspapers feel unbearable.

There are not only the labor contract law but also the social insurance law under consideration, which was first submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for consideration in December 23rd. The draft has strengthened the mandatory collection of premium, and can be deducted from the account opened by the unit in the bank which does not pay or pay in full.

This will undoubtedly further standardize the media employment system and increase labor costs inevitably.

Motivate employees through the "rewards and punishment mechanism" and "job quantification"

What worries the evening papers and city newspapers is that no matter how long the contract is signed, two fixed-term labor contracts are signed in a row, and third labor contracts are signed, there is no fixed term labor contract with the laborers. Unless the workers themselves ask for the signing of the fixed term labor contract, or there is a serious violation of rules and regulations, serious dereliction of duty, illness or non industrial injury, they can not engage in the original work after the prescribed medical treatment expires, nor can they engage in the work arranged separately by the employer.

In response to this provision, some newspaper personnel departments questioned reporters: "this is not going back to the era of iron rice bowl. When the newspaper signed third labor contracts with the workers, it did not understand the right to employ. Would it make editors and journalists lose their enthusiasm for work?"

Guo Linxia, President of the China Resources Association's Human Resources Research Association, bluntly said: "the labor contract law, a law aimed at promoting social progress, will never bring the society back to 20 years ago."

She further pointed out that after the implementation of the labor contract law, it is not necessary to dismiss employees, but to have reasonable dismissal conditions and dismissal procedures, reasonable and lawful dismissal of employees, so as to achieve a reasonable flow of personnel.

Lin Jia, a law professor at Renmin University of China and a labor law expert, explained: "this regulation is in line with the international employment system standard. It is aimed at promoting the legal orientation of the long-term and stable employment system and promoting the long-term development of enterprises and workers.

However, the law is not and will not interfere with the reasonable and lawful dismissal of employees by employing units. Employers can abide by the law and encourage employees' motivation through internal rewards and punishments incentive mechanisms and quantitative work standards to promote the flow of personnel.

Newspapers should make their own labor contracts.

The law of labor contract stipulates that the employer should agree on the labor remuneration, welfare treatment and the rules and regulations that are directly related to the interests of the laborers. It must be discussed fully by the Commission and the trade union, and the democratic procedure signed by the chairman of the trade union should be signed.

This law requires not only the strict rules and regulations of the employing units, but also the democracy of the system making procedure, otherwise it is illegal.

This will push the trade union organization to a high and important position.

Trade unions must interact with newspapers. If trade unions fail to play their due role, newspapers will be in a passive position when they dismiss employees and discuss related issues with their employees.

For example, regarding the eight welfare systems of the employees, the trade union must fulfill the obligation of publicity, notification and service to the employees, and the employee's signature and recognition can be regarded as the realization of the two sides' opinions.

If there is a dispute, more than 3 employees must confirm receipt and see the system publicity.

In addition to the positive role of trade unions, human resources management departments also have a lot of work to do.

Guo Linxia believes that when a newspaper and a worker sign a labor contract, they should not use the model contract which is universally applicable, because each newspaper has its own particularity, so that its own legal adviser will play a role and tailor his own labor contract for the newspaper.

In addition to the contents stipulated by the law, the contract also includes the rules and regulations of the newspaper, because rules and regulations are the only way to terminate the labor contract.

If the newspaper office has not yet done a complete set of rules and regulations, then it is best to have a clear statement in the labor contract, "this contract includes, but is not limited to, the present rules and regulations", because the new rules and regulations are effective only after publicity.