Regulations on the Election of Primary Organizations of Trade Unions

Notice of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions on Issuing the Regulations on the Election of Grassroots Organizations of Trade Unions

General Industrial Development [2016] No. 27

The Federation of Trade Unions of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, all national industrial trade unions, the Federation of Trade Unions of organs directly under the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Federation of Trade Unions of Central State organs, and all departments and units directly under the ACFTU:

The "Regulations on the Election of Primary Organizations of Trade Unions" have been reviewed and approved at the 55th meeting of the 16th Secretariat of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions. It is hereby issued to you. Please combine the actual situation and earnestly implement it.

All-China Federation of Trade Unions

9 October 2016

Regulations on the Election of Primary Organizations of Trade Unions

Chapter 1 General Principles

These Regulations are formulated in accordance with the the People's Republic of China Trade Union Law, the Constitution of the Chinese Trade Union and other relevant provisions in order to regulate the election of grass-roots organizations of trade unions, strengthen the construction of grass-roots trade unions and give full play to the role of grass-roots trade unions.

Article 2 These Regulations shall apply to grass-roots trade union committees established individually or jointly by enterprises, institutions, organs and other social organizations.

Article 3. Grass-roots trade union committees are elected by the general assembly or the general assembly of members. The chairman and vice-chairmen of a trade union committee may be directly elected by the general assembly or the general assembly, or may be elected by the trade union committee.

Article 4 Trade union members shall have the right to vote, to be elected and to vote. Except for those who retain their membership.

The election work shall adhere to the leadership of the Party, adhere to democratic centralism, follow the principles of standardization in accordance with the law, openness and fairness, respect and protect the democratic rights of members, and reflect the will of the electors.

Article 6: Elections are conducted under the leadership of the Party organization at the same level and the trade union at the next higher level. If no party organization is established, it shall be conducted under the leadership of the trade union at the next higher level.

The previous trade union committee shall be responsible for the preparations for the general election of the grass-roots trade union committee.

The preparatory work for the election of newly established grass-roots trade union organizations shall be the responsibility of the trade union preparatory group. The members of the preparatory group are composed of representatives of party organizations at the same level and representatives of employees. According to work needs, the higher-level trade union can send people to participate.

Chapter II Membership and Standing Committee Membership

Article 8 The number of members of the grass-roots trade union committee shall be determined according to the number of members:

Less than 25 people, 3 to 5 members, or 1 chairman or organizer;

25 to 200 members, with 3 to 7 members;

201 to 1000 members, with 7 to 15 members;

1001 to 5000 members, with 15 to 21 members;

5001 to 10000 members, with 21 to 29 members;

10001 to 50000 members, with 29 to 37 members;

More than 50001 members, with 37 to 45 members.

Article 9 The grass-roots trade union committee of large enterprises and institutions may, with the approval of the trade union at the next higher level, set up a standing committee, which shall be composed of 9 to 11 members.

Chapter 3: The Proposed Candidate

There shall be candidates for the election of members of the grass-roots trade union committee, members of the standing committee, chairman and vice-chairman. Candidates should have firm beliefs, serve the people, be diligent and pragmatic, dare to take responsibility, be honest and clean, love the work of the trade union, and be trusted by employees.

Among the candidates for members of the grass-roots trade union committee, there should be an appropriate proportion of model workers (advanced workers), front-line workers and female workers' representatives.

Article 11 The main administrative person in charge, legal representative, partner and their close relatives shall not be candidates for the trade union committee, standing committee, chairman or vice chairman of the unit.

Article 12. Candidates for membership of the grass-roots trade union committee shall be fully deliberated and discussed by the members and shall generally be recommend by the trade union branch or trade union group. The previous trade union committee or trade union preparatory group shall, in accordance with the opinions of the majority of trade union branches or trade union groups, put forward a list of proposed candidates, which shall be submitted to the party organization at the same level and the trade union at the next higher level for examination and approval, and then submitted to the general assembly or the general assembly of members for voting and approval.

The candidates for the standing committee members, chairman and vice-chairman of the grass-roots trade union committee can be put forward by the previous trade union committee or the trade union preparatory group according to the opinions of the majority of trade union branches or trade union groups, and submitted to the party organization at the same level and the trade union at the next higher level for examination and approval; or the party organization at the same level and the trade union at the next higher level can negotiate with the trade union to put forward the trade union, the previous trade union committee or trade union preparatory group shall, in accordance with the opinions of the majority of trade union branches or trade union groups, report to the party organization at the same level and the trade union at the next higher level for examination and approval.

According to the needs of the work, after consultation and agreement between the trade union at the next higher level, the grass-roots trade union and the party organization at the same level, the trade union at the next higher level may recommend personnel outside the unit to the grass-roots trade union as candidates for the chairman and vice chairman of the trade union.

Article 14 The chairman and vice-chairman of the grassroots trade union committee shall participate in the post qualification training according to regulations within one year of office. Anyone who fails to participate in the post qualification training in accordance with the regulations without justifiable reasons will generally no longer be nominated as a candidate for the next chairman or vice chairman.

Chapter IV Implementation of Elections

Before the election, the grass-roots trade union organization shall report to the party organization at the same level and the trade union at the next higher level, and formulate the election work plan and election method.

The proposed list of candidates for members of the grass-roots trade union committee shall be publicized for a period of not less than 5 working days.

Article 16 A grass-roots trade union organization with less than 100 members shall convene a general meeting of members for election; a grass-roots trade union organization with more than 100 members shall convene a general meeting or a general meeting of members for election.

Where a representative assembly of members is convened for election, the representatives of the members shall be democratically elected by the members in accordance with the relevant provisions.

Article 17 An election may be held only when the number of people participating in the election is more than 2/3 of the number of people attending the meeting.

Members of the grass-roots trade union committee and the standing committee shall be elected by margin, and may directly adopt the method of differential election in which the number of candidates exceeds the number of candidates to be elected for formal election, or they may first adopt the method of differential election to pre-select a list of candidates, and then conduct formal election. The margin of difference between members of the Committee and members of the Standing Committee shall not be less than 5 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively. Members of the standing committee shall be elected from among the newly elected members of the trade union committee.

Article 18 The chairman and vice-chairman of the grass-roots industrial association may be elected in equal or differential terms. The chairman and vice-chairmen shall be elected from among the newly elected members of the trade union committee, and those who establish the standing committee shall be elected from among the newly elected members of the standing committee.

Article 19 The chairman and vice-chairman of the grass-roots work union are directly elected by the general assembly of members or the representative assembly of members, and are generally carried out in small and medium-sized enterprises and institutions with normal operation and management, harmonious labor relations and stable workforce.

Article 20: When a general meeting of members is convened to hold an election, the previous trade union committee or the trade union preparatory group shall preside over the election; when a grass-roots trade union organization without a committee conducts an election, the chairman or organizer of the previous trade union shall preside over the election.

When the general assembly of members is convened for election, it may be presided over by the presidium of the general assembly, or by the previous trade union committee or the preparatory group of the trade union. The members of the presidium of the conference shall be proposed by the previous trade union committee or the trade union preparatory group based on the opinions of the delegations (groups) and submitted to the preparatory meeting of the congress for voting.

When the first plenary meeting of the basic-level trade union committee is held to elect the members, chairman, and vice-chairman of the standing committee, it shall be presided over by a newly elected member of the trade union committee recommend the previous trade union committee or the trade union preparatory group or the presidium of the conference.

Article 21 Before the election, the previous trade union committee or the preparatory group of the trade union or the presidium of the general assembly shall introduce the list of candidates, their resumes and relevant information to the electors.

Article 22 The election shall have scrutineers who shall be responsible for supervising the whole process of the election.

When an election is held at a general meeting of members or a representative meeting of members, the scrutineers shall be elected by all members or representatives of members and delegations (groups) from among members or representatives of members who are not candidates, and shall be approved by a vote of the general meeting or the representative meeting of members.

When the first plenary meeting of the trade union committee is held for election, the scrutineers shall be elected from among the members who are not candidates for members, chairman or vice-chairman of the standing committee, and shall be approved by a vote of the whole committee.

Article 23: Elections shall be held by secret ballot. An elector who is unable to attend a meeting may not entrust another person to vote on his or her behalf.

The list of candidates on the ballot paper is arranged in order of strokes of the last name.

Article 24 An elector may vote yes or no, or abstain. Those who vote no may choose another person.

Article 25 If a member or member representative cannot leave the production or work post during the election period, he may vote in the mobile ballot box set up by the electoral unit under the supervision of the scrutineer.

Article 26 After the voting is completed, the ballots shall be counted on the spot and counted under the supervision of the scrutineers.

If the number of ballots recovered in an election is equal to or less than the number of ballots issued, the election shall be valid; if more than the number of ballots issued, the election shall be invalid and a new election shall be held.

A ballot paper shall be valid if the number of persons selected on each ballot paper is equal to or less than the required number of persons to be elected, and invalid if more than the required number of persons to be elected.

Article 27 An elector shall be elected only when he obtains a majority vote of the number of persons present at the meeting.

When the number of candidates who have obtained more than half of the votes in favor exceeds the number of candidates to be elected, those with more votes in favor shall be elected. If the number of votes is equal and the elected person cannot be determined, the elected person with the same number of votes shall vote again, and the one with more votes shall be elected.

If the number of people elected is less than the number of places to be elected, a separate election may be held for the insufficient number of places. If it is close to the number of seats to be elected and meets the requirements of Article 8, the general assembly may also obtain the consent of the majority of members or representatives of members to reduce the number of seats and no longer hold elections.

Article 28 The presiding officer of the General Assembly shall announce the results of the election and whether the election is valid.

The results of the election of the grass-roots trade union committee, standing committee, chairman and vice-chairman shall be reported to the trade union at the next higher level for approval. The trade union at the next higher level shall give a reply within 15 days of receiving the report. If the election is conducted in violation of the prescribed procedures, the trade union at the next higher level shall not approve it and shall re-elect it.

The term of office of the grass-roots trade union committee shall be counted from the date of election.

Chapter V. Tenure, transfer, removal and by-election

The term of office of the grass-roots trade union committee shall be three or five years, and the specific term shall be decided by the general assembly or the general assembly of members. The members of the trade union committee, members of the standing committee, and the chairman and vice-chairman of the trade union committee may be re-elected. When the term of office of a grass-roots trade union committee expires, a general election shall be held on schedule. In case of special circumstances, with the approval of the trade union at the next higher level, the term of office can be advanced or postponed, and the extension time is generally not more than half a year.

The trade union at the next higher level is responsible for supervising and guiding the grass-roots trade union organization to change its term on schedule.

Article 31 When the term of office of the chairman and vice-chairman of the grass-roots industrial association has not expired, they shall not be transferred at will. When work requires a transfer, the consent of the trade union committee at the corresponding level and the trade union at the next higher level shall be obtained.

Article 32: After the democratic evaluation of the member assembly or the member representative assembly and the inspection of the higher-level trade union and the party organization at the same level, when it is necessary to replace or remove the members of the trade union committee, the standing committee, the chairman, and the vice-chairman shall be convened in accordance with the law. The member assembly or the member representative assembly shall discuss it, and shall not be replaced or removed unless approved by a secret ballot of more than half of all members of all members or all representatives of the member assembly or members.

Article 33 When the chairman of the grass-roots industrial meeting is vacant due to job transfer or other reasons, a by-election shall be conducted in a timely manner in accordance with the corresponding democratic procedures.

In the by-election of the chairman, if the candidate is a member, it may be elected by the trade union committee, or by the general assembly or the representative assembly; if the candidate is not a member, it may be elected by the general assembly or the representative assembly after the by-election as a member. It can also be elected by the general assembly or the representative assembly.

The term of office of the by-election chairman shall be for a period that has not yet been fulfilled by the current trade union committee.

Before the by-election of the chairman, with the consent of the party organization at the same level and the trade union at the next higher level, a vice chairman or member may temporarily preside over the work, and the period generally does not exceed half a year.

Chapter VI. Funds Review Committee

Article 34. Where a grass-roots trade union organization with a first-level trade union financial management is established, a fund review committee shall be elected at the same time as the grass-roots trade union committee is elected.

Article 35 The number of members of the grass-roots trade union funds review committee is generally 3 to 11. The funds review committee has one director and one deputy director according to work needs.

The chairman of a grass-roots trade union, the vice-chairman in charge of finance and assets, and the personnel of the financial and asset management departments shall not serve as members of the funds review committee of the trade union at the same level.

Article 36 The grass-roots trade union funds review committee shall be elected by the general assembly or the general assembly of members. The director and deputy directors may be elected by the plenary meeting of the funds review committee, or by the general assembly or the general assembly of members.

The election results of the grass-roots trade union fund review committee shall be submitted to the trade union at the next higher level for approval at the same time as the election results of the grass-roots trade union committee.

The term of office of the grass-roots trade union fund review committee is the same as that of the grass-roots trade union committee.

Chapter 7: The Women Workers Committee

Article 38 If the grass-roots trade union organization has more than 10 female members, a female workers' committee shall be established, and if it has less than 10 members, a female workers' committee shall be established. The women workers' committee and the grass-roots trade union committee shall be established at the same time.

Article 39 The members of the female workers' committee of the grass-roots trade union shall be nominated by the trade union committee at the same level and elected on the basis of full consultation, and may also be elected by the women workers' Congress or the women workers' Congress.

Article 40 The director of the female workers' committee of the grass-roots trade union shall be the female chairman or vice-chairman of the trade union at the same level, and the director of the female workers' committee may also be appointed in accordance with the corresponding conditions through democratic consultation. The chairperson of the women workers' committee shall be nominated as a candidate for membership of the trade union committee or standing committee at the same level. The list of directors and deputy directors of the women workers' committees of grass-roots trade unions shall be submitted to the trade union at the next higher level for approval at the same time as the election results of the trade union committee.

Chapter VIII Annex

Article 41 If the trade union committees established in towns (streets), development zones (industrial parks), and villages (communities), and regional (industry) trade union federations established below the county level are elected, these regulations shall be referred.

Article 42 These Regulations shall be interpreted by the All-China Federation of Trade Unions.

Article 43 These Regulations shall come into force as of the date of promulgation. In case of any inconsistency between the previous relevant provisions and these Regulations, these Regulations shall prevail. On May 18, 1992, the General Office of the all-China Federation of Trade unions issued the interim regulations on the election of grass-roots organizations of trade unions at the same time repealed.