Two Sessions: Political Advisor Calls for Abolition of ‘Labor-Dispatch’ System in China

A prominent Chinese political advisor has proposed scrapping the country’s widely used “labor-dispatch” system, signaling growing concern over an employment practice critics say has eroded worker protections in the world’s second-largest economy.

Zhou Shihong, a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and executive partner at Grandall Law Firm, told Caixin during the ongoing legislative session that the dispatch mechanism — originally designed for temporary or auxiliary roles — has been abused. Instead of serving as a stopgap, it has become a standard hiring model that undermines the rights of the broader workforce, Zhou said, recommending its complete removal.