Issues related to the resettlement of employees of closed bankrupt enterprises

Compilation and review of resettlement plans

Deng Xuezheng, Director of the Bankruptcy Resettlement Office of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security

Since the reform and opening up, in order to effectively carry out the reform and structural adjustment of state-owned enterprises and establish and improve the laws and regulations on the exit mechanism of state-owned enterprises in the socialist market economy, the Law of the People's Republic of China on Enterprise Bankruptcy (for Trial Implementation) was enacted in 1986. With the gradual deepening of the reform of state-owned enterprises and the limitations of the Bankruptcy Law itself, it is difficult to solve some practical problems accumulated for a long time in the process of closure and bankruptcy of state-owned enterprises, especially those related to the placement of employees and the protection of their rights and interests. After the mid-199s, the state intensified its structural adjustment, and successively issued a series of relevant documents on the closure and bankruptcy of state-owned enterprises, which made provisions on the placement of employees. The promulgation of these policies has provided policy support and guarantee for the proper placement of employees, and laid the foundation for further supplementing and perfecting the policies. Especially in recent years, state-owned enterprises have basically achieved the goal of extricating themselves from difficulties through restructuring, merger, reorganization and bankruptcy. However, we should be soberly aware that there are still many problems that need to be further studied and solved in the resettlement of employees in the reform of state-owned enterprises.

the main problems existing in the closure and bankruptcy of state-owned enterprises can be summarized as "one big problem, two more problems and three difficulties". "One big" means that the gap of funds for the closure and bankruptcy of enterprises is large; "Two more" means that enterprises have more debts and more historical arrears; The "three difficulties" are the difficulty in realizing enterprise assets, the difficulty in transferring social functions and the difficulty in resettling employees. The practice over the years shows that the placement of employees is the most policy-oriented, complicated and operational task we have encountered at present. The difficulty is that we need to deal with a large number of historical problems when enterprises close down and go bankrupt, and the difficulty is that we have to deal with various complicated situations. At present, there are mainly the following problems in employee placement: First, there is a big gap in social insurance expenses such as pension and medical care for retirees; Second, it is difficult for enterprises to hand over social functions and public facilities personnel; Third, the large collective of enterprises can not be divested smoothly; Fourth, there are many historical arrears; Fifth, it is difficult for workers in resource-exhausted mines to find jobs again.

I. Main policy basis for the resettlement of employees of closed and bankrupt enterprises

At present, the resettlement of bankrupt employees of state-owned enterprises is mainly divided into three categories according to their different scope of application:

The first category is Guofa [1994] No.59 and Guofa [1997] No.1, which were originally applied to 111 pilot cities determined by the state and are now expanded to various types. The second category is Guo Yue [1999] No.33, which was originally applied to some coal and non-ferrous metal mines in Liaoning, but now it has been extended to some central and decentralized enterprises, military enterprises, military security enterprises, non-ferrous metal industries and commercial enterprises, and enterprises specially approved by the State Council; The third category is [2] No.11 issued by the CPC Central Committee and related supporting policies, which were originally applicable to the resource-exhausted coal and non-ferrous metal mines owned by the central government, but now extended to the third-line military enterprises and gold mines owned by the central government, local resource-exhausted mines and enterprises specially approved by the State Council. In recent years, the state has also formulated some industry policies and corresponding labor security policies. These policies can be summed up as follows: the old workers are "raised"; The original permanent workers (employees owned by the whole people) "one-time placement"; Economic compensation for contract workers; Classified treatment of employees in collective enterprises, etc. In order to further do a good job in the resettlement of employees of closed and bankrupt enterprises, Zhongfa [22] No.12 document clearly stated that "the employee resettlement plan for enterprises that implement policy closure and bankruptcy must be discussed and approved by the workers' congress, and reported to the local government for examination and approval by the coordination group for enterprise merger and bankruptcy and employee re-employment. Where the employee resettlement plan and social security measures are unclear and the funds are not in place, they may not enter the bankruptcy proceedings. " Why do you want to make such a request? In recent years, in the process of enterprise closure and bankruptcy, some localities or some enterprises failed to implement the funds needed for enterprise bankruptcy in time, and the employees' rights and interests were infringed to varying degrees, which led to the continuous petition of employees and large-scale unstable events in some areas, which attracted great attention from the central government. The requirements put forward in Document No.12 are obtained by summing up years of experience and lessons. The main purpose is to properly resettle employees, effectively protect their legitimate rights and interests, and ensure the smooth implementation of enterprise closure and bankruptcy. Labor and social security departments have taken on important responsibilities in this work.

In order to implement the spirit of Document No.12, in February this year, the National Leading Group for Enterprise Merger, Bankruptcy and Re-employment issued the Notice on Doing a Good Job in the Preparatory Work for the Resettlement of Employees of Closed and Bankrupt State-owned Enterprises ([23] No.4), proposing that "the labor and social security departments of the provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government) where the enterprises are located shall be responsible for organizing the resettlement plan for employees of closed and bankrupt enterprises decentralized by the central government. In March, in order to do a good job in auditing the employee placement scheme, the Ministry of Labor and Social Security issued the Notice on Doing a Good Job in Auditing the Employee Placement Scheme of Closed and Bankrupt State-owned Enterprises (Letter [23] No.35 from the Ministry of Labor and Social Security), which further clarified the scope, contents and requirements of the audit.

II. Issues concerning the compilation of the employee placement plan

According to the relevant national policies and regulations and local practices, the main ways of employee placement at present are: first, early retirement; The second is to receive a one-time resettlement fee and seek a self-employment; The third is to receive economic compensation and enter unemployment insurance; The fourth is to use the effective assets of closed bankrupt enterprises to reorganize and resettle; Fifth, resettlement by local communities or retirees management service institutions; Sixth, other enterprises recruit or transfer.

when making the employee placement plan, an enterprise shall, in accordance with the relevant closure and bankruptcy policies implemented by the enterprise and the requirements of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs [23] No.35 and other documents, make clear the basic information of all kinds of employees in the enterprise, the channels for employee placement and the funds needed for resettlement, the management services of retirees and the payment of social insurance fees, the protection plan for employees with work-related injuries and pensions, and the protection plan for employees' rights and interests in the employee placement plan. In the process of formulating the employee placement plan, the enterprise should communicate and coordinate with the local labor and social security department in time. After the preparation of the employee placement plan is completed, the enterprise must submit the preparatory work materials and the employee placement plan to the local labor and social security department for review. Central and decentralized enterprises must be reported to the provincial labor and social security department for review. As different enterprises implement different policies, the following issues should be grasped in formulating the employee placement plan:

(1) On-the-job employee placement

1. On the placement of employees (formerly permanent workers) owned by the whole people: Document No.11 mainly stipulates: First, retire five years in advance; Second, special types of workers retire 1 years in advance; Third, people who can't retire early have two options: either receiving economic compensation to enter unemployment insurance, or receiving a one-time resettlement fee to find a job. On the 33rd, only the one-time resettlement fee was proposed, while on the 59th and 1th, in addition to the one-time resettlement fee, the principle of retiring five years in advance was stipulated.

2. the scope of early retirement for special types of work: the scope of early retirement refers to employees owned by the whole people and those engaged in underground, toxic and harmful special types of work, but there is a fixed number of years for these people to retire early. Only Document No.11 has really solved the problem of special types of work in closing bankrupt enterprises. However, in documents 33, 59 and 1, there is no problem of retiring 1 years in advance for special jobs.

3. Regarding the placement of contract workers: According to the current relevant national policies, contract workers cannot enjoy the early retirement policy of employees owned by the whole people and special types of work, and should be paid economic compensation according to the relevant national policies and the provisions of Document No.481 issued by the Ministry of Labor [1994]. Those who meet the requirements should enjoy unemployment insurance benefits. Documents No.59 and No.1 do not clearly stipulate whether contract workers can receive a one-time resettlement fee. In some places, contract workers have asked to receive a one-time resettlement fee like employees owned by the whole people, based on a reply from the Ministry of Labor and Social Security to the Shanxi Provincial Labor and Social Security Department in 1998 (No.118 from the Labor and Social Security Department [1998]). At present, the document has been abolished and can no longer be used as the basis for contract workers to ask for a one-time resettlement fee.

4. About the identification of mixed workers and the treatment of employees in collective enterprises: The treatment of these two types of personnel is a policy opening in Document No.11, and there are no corresponding provisions in other policies, including the newly formulated industry policy. The identification of mixed workers has been made clear in the document No.33 of the National Leading Group [2], and we should mainly grasp the boundary of 1992. It should be noted that the personnel who provide labor services in collective enterprises do not belong to the scope of mixed workers. The collective enterprises mentioned here are the collective enterprises that are affiliated with the closure of bankrupt mines, not other collective enterprises. Regarding the placement of workers in collective enterprises, Document No.33 only proposed that the local government should be responsible for the placement according to relevant laws and regulations, while Documents No.59 and No.1 did not clearly propose solutions.

5. Identification and treatment of industrial injury (occupational disease) personnel: Document No.33 of the National Leading Group [2] stipulates that industrial injury workers in resource-exhausted mines should be identified according to the provisions of Appraisal of Disability Degree of Workers' Industrial Injury and Occupational Disease (GB/T1618-1996), and industrial injury workers should be identified according to the Trial Measures for Industrial Injury Insurance for Enterprise Employees (issued by the Ministry of Labor [ However, in the current policy, there are no clear provisions on how to deal with the medical expenses of the employees of closed and bankrupt enterprises who have participated in work-related injury insurance, how to deal with the medical expenses of the employees whose injuries are aggravated or their old diseases recur, the issue of work-related injury insurance for employees who have not implemented the work-related injury insurance system, and how to identify and enjoy the treatment of those who have become work-related injuries before the implementation of Document No.266. At present, the Regulations on Work-related Injury Insurance has been officially promulgated and will be implemented from January 1, 24. How to link up the policies is being studied by our department.

6. regarding the reorganization and resettlement of employees by using the effective assets of closed bankrupt enterprises: what is the effective assets of closed bankrupt enterprises? It has been clearly defined in the supporting documents on the separation of main and auxiliary enterprises issued by the central government: that is, the effective assets of closed bankrupt enterprises refer to the assets that conform to the national industrial policy and have certain profitability in the policy closure of bankrupt enterprises. Document [2] No.33 of the National Leading Group clearly puts forward the problem of reorganization of bankrupt enterprises: that is, if the effective assets of closed bankrupt enterprises are reorganized into joint-stock or joint-stock cooperative enterprises, the economic compensation or one-time resettlement fees payable to the employees will be converted into enterprise shares, which will be held by the employees themselves. Since then, the previous length of service of employees is no longer used as the fixed number of years for calculating economic compensation. After the reorganization of enterprises, the identity of employees will also change, and they can no longer engage in state-owned identity. This principle of reorganization is applicable to the policy closure of bankrupt enterprises.

7. On the identification of the people who need to be resettled when the state-owned enterprises close down and go bankrupt as proposed in Document No.12: First, those who have not been re-employed during the period of receiving economic compensation and enjoying unemployment insurance; Second, those who have not been re-employed after receiving a one-time resettlement fee. The main consideration is that it is very difficult for these people to find jobs again, and they should be given help and support in their difficult countries. After being recognized by the local labor and social security department, these people can apply for a "Re-employment Concession Card" according to regulations and enjoy various preferential policies for re-employment.

8. On the resettlement of demobilized military cadres in closed bankrupt enterprises: In 22, the Ministry of Personnel, the Central Organization Department and the Ministry of Labor and Social Security jointly issued the Notice on Seriously Solving the Living Difficulties of Some Demobilized Military Cadres Working in Enterprises (No.82 [22]), which put forward requirements for solving the living difficulties of demobilized military cadres and doing well the resettlement of demobilized military cadres in bankrupt enterprises. This year, the Central Office [23] No.29 clearly put forward the requirements again. All localities should, according to the requirements of the central authorities, seriously solve the problem of resettlement of demobilized cadres in closed and bankrupt enterprises.

(II) On the management of retirees from closed bankrupt enterprises and the overall planning of the cost of off-project pension insurance

1. On the management of retirees: In order to solve the problem of socialized management of retirees from enterprises, the State Council and our Ministry have repeatedly stressed in relevant documents that retirees from enterprises should be included in socialized management and the pensions for retirees should be paid. Document No.11 clearly stated that all retirees who closed bankrupt mines should be handed over to local unified management, old-age insurance should be managed at the provincial level, pensions should be socialized and retirees should be managed by community management institutions. Document No.12 once again proposed that the central enterprises closed down and went bankrupt, and the relevant local and central units formed a joint working group to coordinate the management of retirees, the transfer of social functions of enterprises and the placement of employees.

2. regarding the handling of the out-of-project pension insurance expenses: this is an issue that employees in various bankrupt enterprises are very concerned about. both documents No.11 and No.33 propose that the out-of-project pension insurance expenses should not be considered in principle. However, for the projects that really need to be preserved, Document No.33 proposes: a one-time appropriate subsidy from the balance of the industry pooling fund in the special account of the central finance; Document No.11 states: If the gap is large, the central government will give a one-time appropriate subsidy after verification by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security and the Ministry of Finance. The National Leading Group [2] No.33 requires that the fund gap certificate should be a document at or above the provincial level. Documents No.59 and No.1 do not specify this.

(III) On the issue of social function transfer personnel enjoying the bankruptcy policy

Document No.33 of the National Leading Group [2] stipulates that, except for the employees of bankrupt mine workers' university, the personnel of other social function transfer departments can not directly enjoy the bankruptcy resettlement policy. This is a special policy for the closure and bankruptcy of resource-exhausted mines. No.33, No.1 and No.59 have no such provisions. The resettlement of the social function transfer personnel shall be implemented in accordance with the relevant provisions of the corresponding documents.

(IV) On the settlement and write-off of social insurance premiums owed by enterprises

According to relevant national laws and policies, enterprises should pay various social insurance premiums in accordance with regulations, and pay off the social insurance premiums owed. In order to solve the problem of paying off the social insurance related expenses of bankrupt enterprises, in recent years, our department has issued a document for many times: enterprises with real difficulties in paying off their arrears can write off their unpaid old-age insurance premiums, including long-term arrears, except for the part that should be included in the employees' personal accounts in the enterprise payment, with the consent of the social insurance agency, the audit of the labor and social security department, the review of the financial department and the approval of the provincial people's government. Workers according to the provisions of the proportion of individual contributions to make up the individual account funds, social insurance agencies should be recorded in a timely manner in accordance with the provisions, the payment period of employees to be recognized.

(V) On the Continuation of Social Insurance Relationship

Document No.11 stipulates: If employees of closed bankrupt mines are employed by other units after dissolving their labor relations, employers and individuals will continue to pay the basic old-age insurance premiums according to regulations. Workers who are not employed by other units after the termination of labor relations and voluntarily participate in the basic old-age insurance can continue to participate in the basic old-age insurance by referring to the insurance methods of individual industrial and commercial households. Those who continue to participate in endowment insurance,