The ideal worker in the Chinese chemical manufacturer, according to the internal note, is hardworking, virtuous and loyal. And – perhaps more important – willing to have children for the good of the country.
This was the message that the company, Shandong Shuntian Chemical Group, recently sent to single employees, with a widely spread notification to social media. He instructed them to start families until September 30, or otherwise.
“If you can’t get married and start a family within three quarters, the company will terminate your employment contract,” the note said.
Shandong Shuntian was not the first company to try to dictate the personal life of its employees amid growing concern about marriage and birth rates of China. Weeks earlier, a popular supermarket chain had told its staff not to ask for gifts to reduce the cost of marriages.
Both orders were widely criticized, for many of the same reasons that people refuse to start families in the first place. In addition to the financial cost of children, many young Chinese report the desire for personal autonomy. They reject the traditional idea that their families should direct their lives and they are certainly not willing to let their employers have a say.
Last year, 6.1 million Chinese couples got married – a 20 % reduction from the previous year and the least since the government began releasing statistics in 1986. China’s population has declined for three consecutive years.
Authorities are trying to reverse these trends. Employees have visited women at home to ask if they plan to become pregnant. Published propaganda arguing that pregnancy can make women smarter. And he called for the creation of a “social atmosphere -friendly”, including workplaces.
Some companies seem eager to comply.
The alert of the chemical company, which began to be released online last month, was directed to single employees between 28 and 58, including divorced workers.
“He does not respond to the call of the country, without getting married and having children, he is unknown,” the note said.
As online ridicule increased, the company quickly backtracted. She returned over the phone, a woman at her headquarters said the notice had been withdrawn and that the local government had ordered the company to undergo “correction”. Refused to answer further questions. Local labor officials could not be approached for comments.
Years ago, when the Chinese authorities wanted to restrict births, they resorted to forced measures such as forced abortions and sterilizations. (The city based on the chemical company, Linyi, was particularly infamous for such tactics.) Now that Beijing is trying to do the opposite, it is getting a softer approach, perhaps to avoid removing large -scale resistance.
But officials have marked the support for the involvement of some companies, such as in the case of the Supermarket Pangdonglai chain.
The founder of the chain, Yu Donglai, wrote to the social media in November that it will soon be forbidden by employees from exchanging “bride prices” – payments, sometimes amounting to tens of thousands of dollars, which a man traditionally gives his future wife. Critics of the practice, including the government, argued that it makes marriage unacceptable for many men.
Employees will also not be allowed to invite more than five visitors tables to their weddings, Mr Yu said.
Some commentators accused him of excessive mood. But the people daily, the official mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party, defended him. The rules “were intended to promote a new trend of civilized marriage,” he said in a comment. “His guidance is worth paying attention.”
Pangdonglai officially the new rules in January. Employees who do not comply will maintain basic benefits, but are not eligible for additional, such as extensive license.
Some social media users informed that recent announcements were disguised cost cutting measures or rejected them as businessmen’s whims. Both Pangdonglai and the chemical company are private, not state.
But the fact that companies feel comfortable issuing such decrees reflects the wider social environment, suggesting that they believed that the commands would be well accepted, said Lu Pin, a Chinese feminist scholar and activist.
Instead of issuing its own commands, the government may prefer to create social pressure to have children, Ms Lu said. If people are afraid to be excluded from their communities or lose their jobs, they may be more likely to comply, he said.
“Governance through social rules is low -cost, low -risk and avoids accountability for the government,” Lu said.
However, there have been suggestions that the government can put more direct pressure on its own employees.
Last year, a document plan by the Quanzhou Health Committee, a city in southern China, spread online. He called on government officials to “take on the implementation of the Three Children’s Policy”.
The document did not specify what it meant with the application. But the commentators have drew parallels with a famous open letter from the central authorities who are believed to have begun a child’s policy in 1980. This letter caused party members to “take the lead” in the existence of a child.
A woman who responded to the phone at the Quanzhou Health Committee confirmed the existence of the plan. But he said the city was waiting for the highest level instructions before issuing final instructions.
Siyi zhao He contributed research.
