2.1 The form of expression of Chinese industrial relations has already been changed into “interest relations of mutual benefit and reciprocity type” from“cooperative relations of helping each other of comrade type”
In essence, industrial relations are formed between the laborer and the user of labor force during the labor process. It is a kind of pure economic relation between labor and management. Labor and management run for their own interests, which has both the side of cooperating with each other and the side of confronting each other (even the fierce conflict). But under the traditional highly centralized planned economic system, the country manages enterprises directly and is responsible for the gain and loss totally. Because the interests and resources of the whole society are all disposed by the country, the enterprises are the enterprises of the country, the employees are the employees of the country. Enterprises have no right to choose employees independently, the laborer has no freedom to choose a job too, which reflects on the industrial relations, there is no identity difference between labor and management inside the enterprise, there is only post difference between producer and manager. Everybody is equal in status. The relations of employer and employee don’t reflect the economic benefit relations, and it reflects mostly the political relations between country and laborer. It is a kind of “cooperative relations of helping each other of comrade type”. This kind of “cooperative relations of helping each other of comrade type” shows:
1) The relations of the country and employees are not the relation of labor and capital, have no difference of interests. Great difference, conflict and contradiction don’t exist, it is a political community;
2) Labors are not “employees”, they are the masters of enterprises;
3) The administrator is not the user of labor force, the difference of administrator and employee is only the difference of work division, the function of which is to exercise the management of enterprise’s assets in the name of country.
Proceeding from this kind of “cooperative relations of helping each other of comrade type”, when people deal with relations among the national interests, enterprise’s interests and labor’s individual interests, they often emphasize the commonality and consistency of these three interests, and ignore the difference and inconsistency of them. Even if the difference has appeared, people also think that so long as the national interests have realized, the enterprise interests and the labor’s individual interests will be resolved correspondingly. Undeniably, this kind of “cooperative relations of helping each other of comrade type” can play a certain role in the respect of improving employee’s status and mobilizing employee’s work enthusiasm, but it puts excessive emphasis on the benefit of the country, ignores the independent existence of enterprise interests and labor’s individual interests. So, it is unable to mobilize the initiative, the dynamics, the enthusiasm of the enterprise and labor fundamentally. On the contrary, it will only cause the low efficiency of enterprise.
With the market economic system is perfect gradually, the country, enterprise and employee have turned into mutual independent interests subject. They have formed their own pursuing interests. Especially in the joint-stock enterprises and joint-stock cooperation enterprises, etc, because the property right has already been distinct, the identity definition of enterprise workforce user and laborer has also been distinct, labor and management will have both divergence and cooperation in order to pursue their own interests. Thus the industrial relations inside enterprises has resumed its true color, and move towards “interest relations of mutual benefit and reciprocity type” progressively. Under this kind of industrial relations, employee as a laborer will obtain compensation through working and creating value for enterprise; the manager representing enterprise will exercise the administrative right and obtain the business income; the country as the assets owner will obtain assets income. “Interest relations of mutual benefit and reciprocity type” make three independent and equal interest subject forming the unity of opposites and inalienable linked relations, and enable the country, enterprise and employee to make profit together at the same time. So “interest relations of mutual benefit and reciprocity type” can make “cooperative relations of helping each other of comrade type” more humanism and rationalism, make the country, enterprise and employee win together.
2.2 The setting-up way of industrial relations has already moved from concerning mainly on government’s administrative distribution towards concerning mainly on market choosing.
Under the traditional planned economic system, the laborer is the employee of the country, the enterprises are attaching to national administrative offices, the country take on the employment of laborer through “centralized taking on everything”, and decide the recruitment of enterprises through “centralized distribution”, set up the industrial relations between laborer and enterprise through the way of sending down the recruitment plan quota. The laborers and enterprises must obey the policy of centralized taking on everything and allocation of labor. So, the relation is a kind of typical administrative labor relation. Through the reform and conversion of the economic system, especially after the issuing and implementing of “enterprise law”, “labor law”, the right for the laborer to choose a job on his own and the right for the enterprise to choose the right person on its own has been established. The laborer and enterprise have become relatively independent interests subjects. In order to pursue the harmonious interpersonal relationships and relaxing work environment, make labor compensation maximum, get better work condition and more leisure time, realize one’s own value fully, the laborers begin to shift the work post and company constantly, and break the old pattern that one distribution decide all the life. In order to improve labor productivity and economic benefits, the enterprises begin to pay attention to the best association of workforce, labor efficiency raising, labor cost reducing, maximization of the profit. The disposition of workforce resources breaks the way of traditional administrative disposition, and turns to realize it mainly through market exchange, the establishment of industrial relations move from administrative distribution towards market choosing.
2.3 The regulating measure of industrial relations has been changed from concerning mainly on administrative adjustment and control to legal adjustment and control
Under the traditional system, the laborer’s employment, the post arrangement and adjustment, the laborer’s wage and welfare, labor protection and insurance, the tripartite interests decision and distribution among the country, enterprise and employee, are all dealing with by the country through administrative means. Under the adjustment and control of country’s administrative means, the enterprise and laborer have no rights to discuss, consult and change the industrial relations. Although the enterprise is the employer, it has no right to deal with the labor problem during recruiting process by itself; Although the laborers are the employees, they have no right to participate in dealing with the unavoidable affair of industrial relations between relevant enterprises and employees. So the administrative industrial relations and employees belonging to country are the important characteristics of industrial relations under the traditional system.
With gradual perfection of socialist market economy system and the development of modern enterprise system, enterprises have changed into the economic subjects of independent management and gain-and-loss responsibility, laborers have also changed from “national people” into “enterprise people”, then become “social people”; With the introduction of labor contract system, the regulating measures of industrial relations have been changed greatly. This shows outstandingly that forming and operation of industrial relations are through two-way choice between enterprise and laborer, and dealt with by themselves in accordance with the law on equal foundation. Particularly, the adjustment and control measures of industrial relations have been changed from three respects:
1) Who adjust and control the industrial relations? It has been changed progressively from the initiative grasped by the country to independent decision of enterprise and employee;
2) How to adjust and control the industrial relations? It has already been changed from mainly on administrative adjustment and control by the country to mainly on legal adjustment and control;
3) On which basis to adjust and control of the industrial relations? It has been changed from carrying out the administrative stipulation by the enterprise unconditionally to implementing the legal labor contract by the labor and management together. The responsibility, right and obligation of both the labor and management can be clear through the contractual form of labor contract, which indicate that the Chinese industrial relations are developing towards the equal, voluntary, consulting and standardized direction.
2.4 The distribution of interests inside the enterprise has already been changed from equalitarianism into assigning differentially
The final purpose of establishing industrial relations is to determine the relation of interest distribution of labor and management. That is to say, determine how to assign achievement between labor and management after productive process finished. Under the traditional system, because the interests of enterprise and employee are both involved in the benefit of the country and represented by country. The value difference that created by the manager and general employee are concealed by the different division of work. The distribution between them is nearly the same, which demonstrates stronger characteristics of equalitarianism and “big pot rice”. With the gradual establishment of the market economic system, the great changes have taken place in industrial relations and interests distribution inside enterprises. This shows mainly in three aspects:
1) The interests subject of industrial relations are distinct gradually. the interests difference between country and enterprise and the interests difference between enterprise and individual have produced inside the enterprise. In this way, the interests subject inside enterprises have changed from the national single subject mode in the past into three interests subjects: country, enterprise legal representative and individual;
2) The distribution of employee’s interests in industrial relations has appeared differentiation. After enterprises becoming the independent managing entity, the status and power of them are strengthened constantly at the time of dealing with industrial relations. The power includes the establishment of work post, the employment and dismissal of employee, compensation standard and the choice of paying form, etc. In order to mobilize the employee’s work enthusiasm and obtain the economic benefits to the maximum extent, the enterprises adopt the measure that assigning interests according to the employee’s contribution increasingly. Like this, the distribution of interests between the employees is more and more clear and differential ;
3) The interests distribution gap among the subjects of industrial relations is magnified increasingly. In the market competition, the business decision of the enterprise is more and more important. If the decision is correct, the enterprises can make success; If the decision is wrong, it perhaps will have great losses. So a lot of enterprises have set up the annual-salary system and stock option system which is different from general wage systems, in order to encourage and restrict the manager with high risk and high return. This make the interests distribution gap among the subject of industrial relations magnifying increasingly. It indicates that the Chinese industrial relations are developing towards the direction of embodying distribution according to work and promoting the social productivity.