Recently, three departments including the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security ("MOHRSS") have jointly issued the Opinions on Further Enhancing Legal Aid in the Mediation and Arbitration of Labor and Personnel Disputes (the "Opinions").
The Opinions lay out requirements in five respects: 1. establishing and improving the collaborative mechanism for legal aid in the mediation and arbitration of labor and personnel disputes; 2. expanding the scope of targets to whom legal aid will be offered in the course of mediation and arbitration; 3. standardizing the procedures for providing legal aid in the mediation and arbitration processes; 4. refining the mechanism of convenient services; and 5. stepping up organization and leadership. Among others, the Opinions state that with regard to targets of legal aid, judicial administrative organs shall give full consideration to local supply of legal aid resources, demands of people in difficulty for legal aid and other factors, gradually enable low-income laborers to have access to legal aid, and give priority to legal aid in the mediation and arbitration of labor and personnel disputes involving migrant workers, employees with work-related injuries and female employees in pregnancy, on maternity leave and during the breastfeeding period. The Opinions also call for streamlining the examination procedures, stating that registered impoverished laborers, and migrant workers that claim remuneration for their labor services or compensation for work-related injuries, will be exempt from the examination of financial difficulties.