Conservatives don’t mean things when they say words.

Most accurate way of putting it I’ve heard yet.

“The workweek was known colloquially as 996, which was shorthand for a week that went 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week. Not only did these hours exceed standard maximums, but employees also were rarely compensated for the overtime work. As TechCrunch notes: “Though technically mandating overtime pay for anything surpassing a standard five-day/40-hour work week, employers are known to avail themselves of a plethora of formal and informal methods for evading their legal obligations.” In August 2021, the Supreme Court and Ministry of Human Resources issued guidance that imposed limitations on this common work practice. Now, the legal workweek in China is supposed to be 40 hours a week and eight hours a day, with a cap of 44 hours in a week. According to China labor laws, employers may extend employees’ work hours by an hour per day, if agreed upon by the applicable trade union. That said, the China labor law also states that the maximum number of extra hours can’t exceed three hours per day or 36 hours in a month. And employees must be given at least one rest day for every week of work.

That said, it’s still too early to see whether the changes to the law will be upheld and enforced by Chinese authorities.

Employees are expected to receive salaries at least once a month. And that salary cannot be less than the minimum wage set by one of the 22 provincial governments. These wages are updated every few years and are adjusted to account for the region’s cost of living, level of development and local conditions.

In addition to salaries, employers are expected to provide social contributions to: Employee pension Medical expenses Housing fund Unemployment Maternity benefits Work-related accidents or injuries”

https://www.safeguardglobal.com/resources/blog/china-labor-laws/

And that’s coming from a western based company; western sources are generally skeptical of China and repeat dumb propaganda like what you’ve said. Why do you think companies are moving manufacturing of ultra cheap goods like clothing to Bangladesh and Vietnam? They need new places to exploit slave labor. China has the major bargaining chip in skilled labor and machinery for more advanced manufacturing though. Companies are still looking to move that but it takes significantly longer to do that and maintain quality (plus it’s very costly to do).

Chinese labor practices have been evolving for years. You may not agree with their government because it is spoooky communism but it is run in a goal oriented fashion that does intend to bring prosperity to its people.

Are you American? I am. And my job does not provide a pension, medical expenses, unemployment, maternity leave, housing, or workers comp. I have a masters degree and am licensed to provide healthcare but like many of my peers my industry has largely been converted to 1099 workers. Many of the people I serve are workers that work jobs like customer service and they also get none of these benefits because our government has failed us miserably.

China has the disadvantage of having to industrialize much later than the United States. Further, their industrialization period was marked by being exploited for labor by the United States (much like how the rich upper class of the United States exploited children and the poor during its own Industrial Revolution). But coming out of their industrialization they are making strides to set up a more equitable society while we fall to constant political gridlock, increased wealth inequality and discrimination, violence, and now literally watching the few social support programs we have become dismantled in front of our eyes as fascism rises