Study On Labor Protection Of Nanjing Kuomintang Government Period (1927-1937)

After the Opium War, with the invasion of foreign capitals, the rise of Westernization Movement andthe rapid development of national capitalist economy, the working class in China has expandedtremendously. During the time from the1911Revolution to the May4thMovement in1919, the number ofthe working class in China has been increased from about660,000to more than2,000,000. When NanjingNational Government is founded, the number outreaches3,000,000. The working class form the majority inthe nation and play an important role. Thus, the labor problems have gradually become important andurgent.After the foundation of Nanjing National Government, there are more and more labor movementsemerging and they become more and more violent. Influenced by International Labor Organization and inorder to consolidate its power, Nanjing National Government has enacted a series of labor protectionlegislations, such as “Trade Union Law”,“Union Law Enforcement Act”,“Factories Act”,“Implementationof the Factories Act Regulations”,“Factory Inspection Law”,“Labor Disputes Law”,“Factories Actamendment”,“Collective Agreement Act”,“Labor Contract Law”,“The Minimum Wage Act”,“Mine Act”,“Railroad Employees Services Ordinance”,“Convention on Minimum Wage”and so on. In terms of thecontents of these laws, they cover almost all the aspects of labor issues and form an multi-layered andcomprehensive system of labor laws and regulations. These laws are of great significance in the history ofChines legislation.The labor laws by Nanjing National Government aim at keeping peace between the labor and themanagement and boosting the economic development, but they also protect the labor’s rights to someextent. It could be called a miracle that the government enact more than10labor laws and regulations injust10years and they still make some difference for today’s legislation. However, the implement of these laws and regulations is not pleasing, and some of them have never been implemented. By analyzing thecontents, the characteristics, the implement environment and many other aspects of the labor legislation inthe period of Nanjing National Government, this thesis tries to rediscover the historical value of modernlabor protection legislation in China and reveal its practical significance.