The Chinese government has forbidden to use the killer chart “996”, which suggests a six-day working week with shifts for 12 hours. The prohibition disappeared some Chinese, reports Reuters.
Some employees of the Chinese technological company bytedance (owner of Tiktok) with horror found that their salary in August decreased by 17 percent due to the abolition of “996”. “My workload really has not changed. But, unfortunately, the salary is lower,” the product manager admitted.
In the WEIBO’s Chinese social network, the fall in income was actively discussed due to the reduction of the working week. So the post about whether the companies should increase the salary to compensate for employees with the loss of overtime and retain the personnel, scored more than 120 million views. “After receiving your salary this month, I want to know if there are other companies that are still practicing” 996 “in Shanghai?” – wrote one of the employees bytedance.
Despite the obvious harm to the physical and mental health of employees, the “996” schedule is considered to be honorable and is perceived by the Chinese themselves as an advantage over American and European competitors. In addition, Chinese legislation obliges to pay for recycling on the weekend twice as much, and on holidays – three times more. By law, the working day in China lasts eight hours, and the duration of the working week should not exceed 44 hours.
The Chinese government affected the observance of the rights of workers not only in the technological sector. The focus is delivered to the delivery companies. They are often accused of striving to speed up couriers to the detriment of security. To avoid accidents, the state considers the ability to increase the number of interruptions for couriers. The major delivery service of Meituan, previously abandoned the “996” schedule, has already agreed to provide employees to employees for recreation.
The authorities of the city of Xiamen also demanded to grant the couriers a 20-minute break every four hours of operation. However, in the social network Weibo, this requirement was perceived ambiguously: mandatory breaks can affect the income of couriers receiving a fee for each delivered order. “Don’t they ride even faster?” – wondered by one of the users.
The Chinese government has forbidden in many companies in many companies “996” due to growing social discontent. The last drop was the messages about deaths in the workplace. The Supreme Court of the People’s Republic of China called the murderous practice illegal, indicating that employees have the right to rest and leave. “Employers can call diligently work, but at the same time should not forget about their duties,” said the Joint Statement of the Court and the Ministry of Labor and Social Security.