The Common Program of the People's Republic of China 1949-1954
Common
Program
Article 32
Article 32
The system of worker's participation in the administration of production shall, for the present period, be established in state-owned enterprises. This means that factory administrative committees shall be set up under the leadership of the factory managers.
In privately-owned enterprises, in order to carry out the principle of benefitting both labour and capital, collective contracts shall be signed by the trade union, representing the workers and employees, and the employer.
For the present period, an eight to ten-hour day should in general be enforced in publicly and privately operated enterprises, but under special circumstances this matter may be dealt with at discretion.
The people's governments shall fix minimum wages according to the conditions prevailing in various localities and trades.
Labour insurance shall be gradually established. The special interests of juvenile and women workers shall be safeguarded.
Inspection of industries and mines shall be carried out in order to improve their safety devices and sanitary facilities.
30-12-1950 Mao Zedong Remarks on the Trade Union Work Report from the Northwest Bureau
The main aspects of article 32 are in state-owned enterprises, worker participation in administration through factory committees shall be established. Private enterprises shall adopt collective contracts between trade unions and employers, ensuring benefits for both labor and capital. During this period, a standard eight to ten-hour workday shall generally be enforced in public and private sectors, subject to discretion in special circumstances. Minimum wages shall be set by local governments based on prevailing conditions. Labor insurance will be gradually introduced, prioritizing the protection of juvenile and female workers. Industries and mines will undergo inspections to enhance safety and sanitation.
27-08-1952 GAC Unified Registration Measures for the Unemployed
"Trade unions which were set up in both factories and offices
had women’s sections (funübu) to press the special interests of
women. Enterprises with more than fifty female employees
were required to have a women’s committee of the trade
union, and those with fewer elected a women’s representative
to thé general trade union committee. Women’s representative
congresses were to be elected periodically to discuss specific
issues in enterprises with a considerable num ber of women
employees. Branches of the Women’s Federation were also formed within enterprises to link working women with other
women all over China.49 " Davin (1976) Pages 174-175 [Cite]
Fig. 32. Population and employment in PRC 1949-1953
Year
Total population*
Urban (%)
Workers & employees**
Industrial workers**
1949
542
10,6
7.977
3.059
1950
552
11,2
10.166
3.386
1951
563
11,8
12.705
4.379
1952
575
12,5
15.656
5.263
1953
588
13,3
18.069
6.121
Source: Kaple (1994). Page 42 * millions ** thousands
Fig. 32. Female workers and employees* in 1949-1954
Year
total
female
Percentage
1949
8.004.000
600.000
7,5
1950
10.239.000
1951
12.815
1952
15.804.000
1.848.000
11,7
1953
18.256.000
2.132.000
11,7
1954
18.809.000
2.435.000
12,9
Source: Davin (1976). Page 166 *government and administrative personnel etc.
In Baotou, high-ranking soldiers anticipated being "rewarded" with young women from Chengdu or the Northeast in exchange for their service on the Inner Mongolia frontier. Men were initially sent to build the Baotou Iron and Steel company and open the Bayan Obo mine, but the leadership recognized that having many men in one place could lead to chaos. To prevent this, women from Sichuan and the Northeast were recruited to live and work in Baotou, with textile factories (danwei) established for them to start families.
soon after the founding of the PRC, the CCP started organizing and mobilizing women. For example, the Baotou Municipal Women’s Committee held its first meeting in December 1949. They coordinated with the outgoing GMD government to develop a work plan and build up Baotou. The committee's main tasks included engaging with women at all levels, understanding their conditions, and promoting the party's policies. They established local women's committee offices in every village and town to integrate women into the national military-industrial project. The committee played a crucial role in integrating women and shaping their identities, celebrating heroines from both Han and Mongolian backgrounds. They organized study groups to highlight examples of virtuous, revolutionary women and branded those who opposed the women’s movement as counterrevolutionaries for failing to follow Mao Zedong’s thought and respect the party’s leadership.
Fig. 32. Number of industrial enterprises confiscated end 19949, by size of employment
Size of employement
number of industrial enterprises
number of production workers*
below 100 persons
1.687
57
100-500 persons
686
151
500-1.000 persons
145
104
1.000-5.000 persons
130
252
over 5.000 persons
14
189
unknown
15
n a
Total
2.677
753
Chen (2017). Page 181 table 4.1 * thousands
Fig. 32. Employment in industry 1952-1954 (in ten thousands)
Year
State owned work units
Collective work units
Individual businesses
Rural Labour
Total
1952
1580
23
883
18243
20729
1953
1826
30
898
18610
21364
1954
1881
121
742
19088
21832
Source: Han (1994). Page 179
Fig. 32. Proportion of Housing Investment 1950-1953 (%)
Year
Productive investment*
Non-productive investments**
Other Non-productive
Housing
1950
65
24
11
1951
65
24
11
1952
66,9
22,8
10,3
1953
58,6
28,9
12,5
Source: Han (1994). Page 190 * The productive investments includes all investments
for the economic sectors such as agriculture, industry, construction, transportation, commerce, and communication **The non-productive investments
are used to satisfy people' material and cultural needs. They include investments on housing, infrastructure, health care, social welfare, education, media, research, and on the constructions of financial and insurance sectors, government agencies, party branches, and other social groups.
Fig. 32. Distribution of industrial workers and employees indifferent types of economy %
Year
1949
1952
1955
State and cooperatively operated
15,5
25,1
34,3
Public and private jointly operated
1,2
2
5,5
Total Socialist & semi socilaist
16,7
27,1
39,8
private capitalistic industry
18,3
16,3
9,3
Individual handicraft
65
56,6
50,9
Total industry
100
100
100
Source: Yin (1960). Page 77 table 12
||Insurence...
The insurance company is directly led and managed by the head office of the People's Bank of China, and the capital is proposed to be 20 billion yuan. Regional companies will be established in the locations of the People's Bank of China. The Northeast Insurance Company owned by the Northeast Bank is placed under the leadership of the People's Insurance Company of China. The main tasks are: (1) to ensure production safety, to support the development of trade, and to promote the exchange of materials between urban and rural areas; to improve the welfare of the working people; to defend national property. (2) The state-run insurance company must lead the private insurance company to jointly realize the above tasks, and replace the government to implement the administrative management of the business operation of the private insurance company, reform the pure profit concept and various unreasonable business methods of the private company, and overcome the past dependence on foreign companies. (3) Regarding the issue of accumulating funds, the first is to complete political tasks. (4) At present, attention is mainly paid to the construction, development and expansion of the state-run insurance business, gradually establishing companies at all levels, developing business, accumulating experience, and cultivating talents.
Insurance
In June 1950, the People's Insurance Company of China established 5 district companies, 31 branch companies, 8 branch companies, 25 offices, 4 business departments and dispatched offices, with a total of 73 units. There are also 564 agency offices, of which the People's Bank of China has 385 agency offices. The company has a total of 2,263 employees, among which two-thirds of the old insurance practitioners are accepted and retained. Like the private banking industry is speeding up to be brought under unified management, the private insurance companies are brought under unified management. Public-private joint venture insurance companies (for example: Xinfeng Insurance Company, North China Minlian Reinsurance Exchange Office) were established By the end of 1952, foreign insurance companies operating in China successively applied for closure and withdrew from the Chinese insurance market. See also Article 39
Fig. 32.2 Industrial Sickness and Disability Insurance for Workers and Their Dependents
Source: Kraus (1982). Page 26 Valid for factories and mines with more than 100 employees
Furthermore, laws regarding postnatal care for women workers and employees were established, granting them a 56-day maternity leave with full pay. Additionally, expectant mothers, as well as mothers and their children, were entitled to free medical care . The implementation of a comprehensive social security system progressed gradually, with planned social services becoming fully operational after the reconstruction phase. Initially, its scope was limited, primarily covering government employees, students, teachers, and staff in educational institutions by 1952. However, the rural population was not included in social insurance protection.
Fig. 32. Industrial Employees. Classification by Sex, Social Insurance, and Right to Free Medical
Care
Year
total employees
women
man
with social insurance
without social insurence
right to free medical care
without right free medical care
1952
15.804.000
1.848.000
13.956.000
3.300.000
12.504.000
4.000.000
11.804.000
1953
18.256.000
2.132.000
16.124.000
4.830.000
13.426.000
5.496.000
12.760.000
1954
18.809.000
2.435.000
16.374.000
5.380.000
13.429.000
5.666.000
13.143.000
Source: Kraus (1982). Page 59
Safety
||Strikes...
The CCP had good relations in Shanghai however, this could not prevent economic and social chaos. See Part 3 In December 1949, there are over 3300 strikes in the city.
In the aftermath of the Communist occupation of Shanghai in May 1949, a significant number of labour disputes erupted throughout the city. The workers, who were now being proclaimed as the leading class in the country by the Communists, were eager to put this newfound status to the test by seeking immediate improvements in their economic conditions. However, many of these demands and actions were excessive and irresponsible. The authorities, still in the process of establishing firm control over labour organizations, seemingly hesitated to openly oppose these demands for fear of antagonizing the workers. Nevertheless, they were also aware that the strained economy, especially during the period of economic depression in Shanghai, could not sustain the ongoing pressure caused by these demands. Additionally, this situation posed a challenge to their policy of fostering cooperation with private capital.
Mikoyan has warned the CCP leaders not to prohibit strikes:
"…otherwise the CCP may lose the trust of workers. The significance of the working class in the revolution is determined not by its quantity, I said, but by the fact that it is a new class, the carrier of the most progressive ideas. The future belongs to the working class. Its significance in the society will grow unstoppably.
The question that one should not prohibit strikes caused a noticeable bewilderment on the part of Mao Zedong and the present members of the CCP CC Politburo. On the whole telegrams with recommendations on the work among workers, youth, women and on the preparation of the Chinese cadres, the content of which was conveyed by me to Mao Zedong and the Politburo members, made a good impression. When they were related, Mao Zedong and the members of the Politburo uniformly nodded in agreement, and Mao Zedong said that the suggestions will be carried out."
Fig. 32. Summary of the Labor Protest Incidents Reported (by Neibu cankao or other sources)
Year
Location
No. of people
Cause
Form of protest
1949-1950
Shanghai*
Unclear
Compensation
Locked managers in their office
End 1949
Shanghai
Unclear
Wages
Control of the premises.
end 1949
Shanghai
27
Factory control
Spontaneous action
1952.2
Shanghai
Unclear
Wages
Riot
1952.9
Shanghai
About 30
Autocratic management
Riot
1953.1
Taiyuan
328
Welfare benefits
Collective petition
1953.3
501
Wage reduction
Refused to attend political studies
1953.3
1133
Autocratic management
Collective petition and demonstration
Unclear
Wage reduction
Collective petition and demonstration
1953.3
A city in Northwest China
4000
Work relocation
Riot
1953.4
Taiyuan
289
Demand for permanent employment status
Collective petition
About 30
Wages
Collective petition
Unclear
Anti-bureaucratism
Collective petition
1954.1
Jiangsu
78
Cancellation of bonuses
Slow down
1954.5
Chongqing
A large number of unemployed workers
Unemployment
Riot
1954.11
Tianjin
Unclear
Unemployment
Riot
1954.11
Jiangsu
Unclear
Wage reduction
Strike
Source: Chen (2014). Pages 512-513 From May 1949 tothe end of the year there were 3.324 strikes