A 37-month human rights "marathon"
On March 2, Zhu Jianchun and his workers returned to the factory where production had been suspended for 37 months. They came back to receive more than 15 million yuan in compensation for termination of labor relations.
Zhu Jianchun sighed with a thick list of compensation payments: "Without the help of the union, we really can't win this'marathon'!"
On January 8, 2018, Zhu Jianchun, a senior technician of Longyan Shengfeng Machinery Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Shengfeng Company), received an "indefinite" notice of production suspension issued by the company.
He couldn't figure out that this company, which is full of enthusiasm in the workshop every day and has too many orders to receive, would unilaterally terminate the labor contract with 342 employees overnight.
In order to help these employees recover wages and economic compensation, the Fujian Provincial Longyan City Federation of Trade Unions joined the 37-month rights defense "marathon."
On the same day, the city general set up a coordination group
"The capital chain is broken, the company is disbanded, and our work is gone." On January 17, 2018, Zhu Jianchun and his co-workers rushed to the Longyan City Workers Service Center for help.
That day, less than 20 days before New Year's Eve.
Receiving Zhu Jianchun were Lin Tianfu, director of the Rights and Interests Department of the Longyan Federation of Trade Unions, and Qiu Yuanyuan and Luo Wei, volunteer lawyers for legal aid.
It is understood that the reason for the company’s suspension of production was due to defaulting on debts to others and was sued by creditors to preserve assets. The total amount of debts applied for court enforcement was nearly 100 million yuan.
The factory and equipment were preserved, and the workers had to be forced to suspend work.
On the same day, the Longyan City Federation of Trade Unions established a coordination working group composed of union cadres, volunteer lawyers, and employee representatives and launched the "one court, one office, four system".
The labor union has established a collegiate panel to protect the legitimate rights and interests of employees in the court, and the employee service center has set up a labor dispute mediation room. By giving full play to the functions of the four systems of union officials serving as people’s jurors, court entrusting labor union mediation, labor union assistance in court mediation, and mediation confirmation, it promotes corporate cooperation Employees negotiate within the framework of labor laws and regulations.
In 10 days, the lawyers completed the information verification of 342 laid-off workers, and the labor dispute mediation room of the labor union held 4 major mediations and 6 small mediations.
In the mediation room, when the company finally agreed to compensate these employees in accordance with the law, Zhu Jianchun reported the good news to the workers in the WeChat group.
For "priority", unions race against time
"This is the deposit for labor insurance supplies when we enter the company, the salary for the month of suspension, and the compensation for the termination of the labor relationship..." Liao Qifu, a skilled worker, is also one of the employee representatives.
During that time, Liao Qifu held a notebook at home to calculate his economic compensation against the law found on the Internet, but he did not calculate this "account" for a few days.
In the end, it was the legal aid lawyers of the Longyan City Federation of Trade Unions who helped Liao Qifu and the others "settle the accounts.
Qiu Yuanyuan told reporters that, including the bankruptcy law, many laws in our country have provisions that the interests of employees in special positions take priority over other claims. The wages and social insurance of employees are included in the priority of payment, which greatly protects the rights of labor claims. "But in this case, because the company has not yet entered the bankruptcy process, the bankruptcy law cannot be directly applied, and the interests of all creditors need to be considered. In order to help these employees obtain priority in the implementation process, we must race against time to improve the legal documents and help The employees communicate and negotiate with the court and other creditors."
Qiu Yuanyuan recalled: "At that time, a lawyer had to provide legal aid services to more than 60 employees on average, and we must listen to the voice of every employee."
On January 25, 2018, Shengfeng Company announced the economic compensation plan for employees.
After finding out, the employees who agreed to this plan accounted for 80% of the total number.
"Among the remaining 20% of the employees, there are those from other provinces, those who are pregnant, and those who suffer from occupational diseases. Everyone's demands are different." Luo Wei told reporters that the focus of the controversy was on "female workers''three phases' "How to terminate the labor relationship", "Can social security be paid back", "How to compensate employees suffering from occupational diseases" and "The enterprise has not notified in advance whether it should pay'payment in lieu of notice'" when the labor relationship is terminated.
During that time, the coordination working group established by the Longyan City Federation of Trade Unions provided “one-to-one” communication services to employees. In the mediation room, there were employees who were invited to enter the door for communication and consultation every day.
"We have written more than 1,000 legal documents alone." Qiu Yuanyuan said, "In order to protect the legitimate rights and interests of employees, every piece of information must be true and correct, and every request must be legal and well-founded."
Finally, the labor relationship of female employees in the "third phase" was terminated through negotiation, and the company promised to provide compensation for work-related injuries to employees diagnosed with pneumoconiosis, and the compensation for unilateral termination of the labor contract by the company was adjusted from the "N months wages" before the negotiation It is "N+1 monthly salary".
Liao Qifu clearly remembered that the time he received the "Arbitration and Mediation Letter" was February 8, 2018, that is, only one month after the company was shut down. Such a fast pace was something that Liao Qifu, who was prepared for a long time for rights protection, did not expect.
From that day on, he and his workers can apply for social insurance transfers and receive unemployment insurance.
The union walks all the way and accompanies us to the beginning of a new life
"Only by fulfilling the functions of the trade union in a way of thinking and rule of law, can the employees' rights protection road be stable and far-reaching." In the view of Qiu Dawu, secretary of the party group and vice chairman of the Longyan City Federation of Trade Unions, in this "marathon" of rights protection, if it is the stage of filing a case Compared to speed, endurance is tested in the execution phase.
In the second half of 2018, the Yongding District Court conducted the first appraisal auction of the seized mechanical equipment and inventory. The auction proceeds totaled 1.53 million yuan. The labor union legal aid lawyers and employee representatives assisted the court to give priority to the payment of 1.206501 million yuan of employee wages and refunded 73,400. A deposit of RMB yuan for workers’ labor insurance supplies.
However, subsequent auctions did not go smoothly. There were many unsuccessful auctions, and the compensation for employees was delayed.
"Can we get our money back?" "How long will we have to wait?"... The WeChat group will receive inquiries from workers every once in a while, and Qiu Yuanyuan and Zhu Jianchun will patiently explain each time.
From organizing local companies to hold special job fairs for Shengfeng employees, to coordinating the Human Resources and Social Security and other departments to help employees pay for social insurance, the Longyan City Federation of Trade Unions has not stopped providing assistance to workers while waiting for implementation.
On January 29, 2021, the WeChat group finally waited for good news.
On the same day, the Yongding District Court launched the auction again and it was successful, and the compensation for the employees finally came to an end.
This WeChat group, which has been established for 37 months, has also been officially renamed "2021".
Zhu Jianchun said: "Thank the trade union for walking along the way and accompany us to the end. This will also be the starting point for our new life!"
Li Runzhao
Li Runzhao