Labour Union Leader's Wrongful Employment Termination Case

The Winning Verdict

The court of first instance, the Beijing Shunyi District People's Court, held that the company's employment termination decision should be annulled and that the prior employment relationship should be reinstated. Additionally, the employer was ordered to compensate Tang with a sum of over Rmb60,000 for lost wages. The main issue contested at the trial was the question of whether the employer's decision to terminate Tang's employment was supported by sufficient factual and legal evidence. The Employer had ostensibly dismissed Tang on the grounds that administrative penalties assessed against the company for sanitary water supply problems were caused by Tang's negligence in his role as the manager of the general affairs department at the company, resulting in significant damages to the company. However, the presiding judge held that the employer "[did] not have sufficient support" (as grounds for employment termination under Article 25 of the PRC Labour Law(中华人民共和国劳动法)¹) because the company itself also failed in its oversight and supervision of the same problem.

According to media reports, Tang, as the president of the labour union, had raised concerns over issues of poor water quality with the company's top management numerous times. When he could not get any official response from the company, Tang brought a formal complaint to the relevant governmental authority, which ultimately resulted in the administrative penalties and Tang's subsequent employment termination as described above.

Labour Union Background

Interestingly, the reported court verdict did not include any reference to the PRC Labour Union Law