The company also accused employees of being unfair because they ignore the need to increase the birth rate in China. Politics was quickly abolished for violating labor laws.
A Chinese company retreated in a controversial policy that threatened to dismiss employees that they never got married and the divorced who continued single until the end of September. The decision was made following a widespread public reaction and the intervention of government officials.
Shuntian Chemical Group, a company based in the province of Shandong with More than 1200 employeesinitially introduced politics last month in an attempt to increase marriage rates between his workforce. The directive was applied to single workers aged between 28 and 58, including divorced, and required “to solve their personal marriage problems” by September 30.
“If they do not do so until the first quarter, they should write a self -reflection,” the company said in their announcement. “If you do not do so until the second quarter, the company will make an evaluation. If you cannot marry and constitute a family until the third quarter, the company will terminate your employment contract”.
The warning also accused single workers of ignoring the national appeal to marry and have children, labeling them “unfair and disobedient to their parents’ councils,” reports.
After the announcement of the politics, it was quickly targeted to harsh criticism on the internetwith many users of social networks to question the legality and justice of such requirement. In the popular Chinese platform Weibo, a user speculated, “Isn’t this one more reason to dismiss an employee?”
The reactions intensified when the Chinese media reported that employees of the local Human Resources and Social Security Department visited the company on February 13. The authorities indicated that the policy violated Chinese labor legislationwhich led the Shuntian Chemical Group to remove it the next day.
“This announcement was taken because some of the words used were inappropriate,” said a company representative when contacted by phone, although he refused to provide his name.
The controversy arises in the midst of a wider effort from the Chinese government to combat the decline in birth rates and marriage. Recent data shows that the number of new marriages in China fell 20% last year – the largest decline that there is record. However, China’s population has decreased for the third consecutive year, falling to 1.408 billion.
Prior to the annual parliamentary meeting of China, a national political advisor proposed Reduction of the legal age of marriage for the age of 18 as a potential solution to the country’s demographic challenges. Currently, China has one of the highest legal marriage ages in the world – 22 years for men and 20 years for women.
However, the proposal was received with skepticism on social networks, where users drew attention to High unemployment rates Young people and wondered if financial insecurity would be a more pressing issue than the legal age to marry.
“When you don’t even have the ability to make money, you want to have a baby for parents to create?” Commented a Weibo user. Another asked, “Is this coming back to ancient times?
