BEIJING: Social media platforms are abuzz with news of “the right to disconnect” after a national political adviser called for more sound legal protections of worker’s rights to rest during nonworking periods.
Lyu Guoquan, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and director of the General Office of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, recently submitted a proposal to the two sessions — the nation’s annual political gathering — to call for improving laws and regulations to prevent people doing extra work during designated rest times — such as weekends or official holidays.
Lyu told China Central Television that the proposal was accepted after being reviewed during the two sessions.
He said that the development of the digital economy and the popularization of the internet have freed workers from fixed working times and places, while at the same time blurring the boundaries between work and life given the prevalence of remote working during the pandemic.
During this phenomenon, employees’ rights to rest or their privacy could not be fully protected as they may have been required to work, or reply to employers’ messages after working hours.
Qian Yue, 32, an advertising planner from a media company in Beijing, said that she is often anxious when her phone is not within easy reach and has stressful responses when receiving work-related messages at night or on weekends. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
