Recently, four agencies including the All-China Federation of Trade Unions ("ACFTU") have jointly issued the Circular on Further Ensuring Effective Collective Consultation in Response to the Impacts Caused by the COVID-19 Epidemic (the "Circular").
The Circular states that collective consultation should focus on the present situations of enterprises' operation and development and actual demands of employees, and be aimed at addressing the difficulty in workforce recruitment faced by enterprises and major concerns of employees. Specifically, efforts will be made to: 1. highlight the consultation for stabilizing employment and shoring up businesses; 2. focus on the consultation in respect of issues related to salary and benefits; 3. support the consultation on matters that have a bearing on the immediate interests of employees; and 4. give priority to the rights and interests of major industries and special groups. Among others, the Circular requires that for enterprises that have big difficulty in resuming work and production, have experienced a sharp decline in orders or are confronted with difficulty in production and operation, the aim is to stabilize employment and sustain the businesses, and these enterprises and their employees are encouraged to keep jobs by means of adjusting the remuneration, adopting a flexible work schedule, planning work shifts and furloughs by turns and organizing training sessions, through collective consultation, in an effort to avoid or minimize layoffs. The Circular also encourages the innovation and improvement of the forms of consultation. In the midst of the COVID-19 epidemic, collective consultation may be held in a proper way and in accordance with the local situation, on the condition that the procedural requirements are observed.