政協委員呼籲遏制超時加班：問題很複雜

全國政協委員指出，當前我國的996問題處於企業失控、監管失序、工會失靈的狀態，要改變996工作文化，不是那麼簡單的事。

Members of China's top political advisory body have proposed reinforced and effective supervision to stop companies overworking their employees.

爲了阻止企業讓員工超時加班，全國政協委員提議加強有效監管。

Since 2019, the 996 work culture－which means working from 9 am to 9 pm six days a week, a schedule widely used at tech companies－has sparked public debate, with some industry insiders calling it a "blessing".

自2019年以來，996工作文化就引發了公衆討論，所謂996工作制是指勞動者每天從早上9點一直工作到晚上9點，每週工作6天。這種工作制度在中國互聯網企業很盛行。一些業內人士將這一現象稱作“福報”。

The issue of overworking employees is getting worse, said Li Guohua, a member of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, pointing out that the absence of official supervision and protection by labor unions has led to the current situation.

政協委員李國華在全國政協十三屆四次會議上指出，當前我國996問題處於企業失控、監管失序、工會失靈的狀態。

"Some companies require employees to work more than 380 hours a month－even more than 996, under which 300 working hours a month are required," he said. "More hectic working schedules are prevailing in areas including short-video sharing, online education, ride-hailing and e-commerce."

李國華稱：“有的公司要求員工每月工作380小時以上，甚至遠遠高出996的每月300小時工作時間。現在在短視頻、在線教育、出行、電商等領域，部分互聯網企業開始推行更加繁忙的工作作息制度。”

Wang Meihua, also a CPPCC National Committee member and deputy chief engineer at Shanghai Construction Group, said that official work hours have also been blurred at companies that rely on calls or instant messaging services for their business. For such enterprises, some employees are required to remain on standby 24 hours a day.

全國政協委員、上海建工集團股份有限公司副總工程師王美華則指出，自從有了智能手機，有了工作微信羣，很多人的上下班時間界限就模糊了，有的企業要求員工24小時在微信羣裏待命。

"Missing any calls or not replying to instant messages immediately will be regarded as a breach of duty "that has led some to lose their jobs, Wang said.

王美華說：“漏接電話或不及時回覆就算違規，甚至會遭到開除。”

Li urged authorities to pay more attention to the problem while enhancing regulations to protect workers' well-being.

李國華敦促管理部門重視對“996”問題的監管，保護勞動者的生命健康權。

The problem is complex.

這個問題很複雜。

On the one hand, authorities have made some headway. In November 2019, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security released a labor contract guideline stating that work time is not allowed to exceed eight hours a day or 40 hours a week.

一方面，有關部門已經率先採取了一些措施。2019年11月，人力資源和社會保障部發布了勞動合同示範文本，規定職工每日工作時間不超過8小時，每週工作時間不超過40小時。

Work time can be stretched after negotiations, but overtime should not exceed one hour a day in general or three hours a day in special circumstances. Further, no more than 36 working hours can be added over a one-month period, according to the guideline.
根據示範文本，經協商後可以延長工作時間，一般每日不得超過1小時，特殊原因每日不得超過3小時，每月不得超過36小時。

"The nation's high-quality development is an endurance race, driven by the labor force's physical and psychological health," said Lyu Guoquan, also a member of the CPPCC National Committee.

全國政協委員呂國泉說：“高質量發展是一場耐力賽。勞動者的身心健康是這場比賽的推動力。”

"Valuing people and protecting their health is the right way to generate fortunes."

“秉持以人爲本的原則，關注和維護勞動者的身心健康，纔是創造價值和利潤的正確路徑。”

On the other hand, workers in many sectors in China, the second-largest economy and biggest developing nation in the world, are encouraged to work hard to accelerate the country's development, not only to surpass their domestic peers but also their international counterparts.

與此同時，作爲全球第二大經濟體和最大的發展中國家，我國許多行業都鼓勵勞動者努力工作以加速國家發展，不只是爲了超越國內同行，也是爲了打敗國外的競爭對手。

"The economy has slowed as the novel coronavirus epidemic has caused the unemployment rate to increase," Zhang Lin, an associate professor at the University of New Hampshire in the United States, told media outlet LatePost last month. "Also, the glut of talent has put more pressure on people looking for work. It is no wonder workers are complaining. Whenever you quit your job, there is someone to replace you."

美國新罕布什爾大學助理教授張琳上個月在對話媒體《晚點》時說；“現在經濟下行，疫情也導致失業率升高，人才供給過飽和，你不幹總有人幹。在這層層壓力下，有抱怨也不奇怪。”

Zhong Ruiqing, an associate professor at Zhejiang University, said that it's also difficult to enforce labor laws that target 996 work schedules.

浙江大學副教授鍾瑞慶表示，針對996工作制的勞動法實施起來也有困難。

"Employees usually work overtime 'voluntarily' because they dare not leave the office when the boss is still on duty," Zhong told LatePost. "Another problem is the inability to enforce rules. Can labor authorities require companies to release their employees at quitting time? Or can they turn off the company's lights at 5 pm?"

鍾瑞慶告訴《晚點》說：“現在員工加班，形式上都是自願的。你到了下班時間，領導沒走，你一個人敢不敢走？而且執法也有一定難度，難道地方勞動部門要求公司到時間趕人走？比如說到了五點鐘關燈？”

In addition, Zhong said that tightening supervision over companies relying on the 996 work schedule may reduce the nation's competitiveness.

鍾瑞慶還指出，如果加強對依賴996工作制的企業監管，中國的競爭力可能會下降。

"For example, if Shanghai regulates such a schedule, companies may move to another city, causing Shanghai to lose its economic advantage," he said. "And if a nationwide supervisory system is carried out, the nation may see a decrease in its economic competitiveness. So policymakers should weigh the pros and cons."

“假設上海嚴格限制互聯網公司加班，公司可能會搬到其他城市，導致上海競爭力下降。如果全國統一管，可能中國的經濟競爭力就下降了。因此，決策層就必須衡量其中的利弊得失。”

Gao Qi, a 28-year-old employee at a tech company in Beijing, said that he has been feeling listless after working 996 over the past two years.

28歲的高奇（音譯）供職於北京一家科技公司，他表示，經歷了過去兩年的996工作，他感覺很疲倦。

"My work time is much more than 12 hours a day under my company's 996 working schedule, if you factor in my commuting time－about two to three hours per round-trip," he said. "I am busy 15 hours a day, six days a week, leaving me only 78 hours a week free of work."

他說：“在公司的996工作制下，我每日工作時間遠遠超過12小時，如果把我的通勤時間（來回兩三個小時）也算在內，我每天有15小時、每週6天都忙於工作，每週只有78個小時不工作。”

Gao said whether there's an effort to abolish 996 or to give subsidies to overworked employees, "it's time to do something."

高奇表示，無論是努力廢除996工作制，還是給過勞員工發放補貼，“是時候行動起來了”。