Company warns single and divorced employees: Marry soon or get ready to be fired

A Chinese language firm just lately discovered itself on the middle of intense public outrage after implementing a controversial coverage that pressured its single workers into marriage. Shandong Shuntian Chemical Group Co. Ltd., a agency primarily based in Shandong province, issued a directive warning its 1,200 workers that remaining single or divorced past September 2025 may price them their jobs. The corporate defended its stance by stressing the importance of household life. Nonetheless, following extreme criticism and intervention from authorities, the corporate was in the end compelled to retract the mandate.The discover explicitly focused single workers between the ages of 28 and 58, together with those that have been divorced. It mandated that they “get married and cool down” by the top of September this yr. The coverage additionally outlined a collection of escalating measures for non-compliance. Staff who didn’t marry by March have been required to submit a self-criticism letter explaining their single standing. By June, these nonetheless single would bear an analysis. In the event that they remained single by September, they confronted the potential of termination.

Shandong Shuntian Chemical Group justified its directive as an effort to uphold conventional Chinese language values comparable to filial piety, loyalty, and social accountability. The corporate’s inside discover acknowledged, “Not responding to the federal government’s name to enhance the wedding charge is disloyal. Not listening to your dad and mom shouldn’t be filial. Letting your self be single shouldn’t be benevolent. Failing your colleagues’ expectations is unjust.” This assertion, reported by the South China Morning Put up, framed the coverage as a ethical and moral obligation reasonably than a mere office rule.

The coverage rapidly drew widespread backlash from workers, the general public, and authorized specialists, resulting in authorities scrutiny. On February 13, native human assets and social safety authorities launched an investigation into the corporate’s practices. Inside 24 hours, Shandong Shuntian Chemical Group was compelled to revoke the coverage and guaranteed the authorities that no workers had been dismissed primarily based on their marital standing. Authorized students and human rights advocates condemned the corporate’s stance, arguing that it immediately violated constitutional rights and labor legal guidelines.

In response to Beijing News, Yan Tian, an affiliate professor at Peking College Regulation College, confirmed that the coverage infringed on people’ freedom of marriage and was illegal. He additional identified that whereas Chinese language corporations are legally prohibited from inquiring about an applicant’s marital or childbirth plans, such discriminatory practices persist in some workplaces.

This incident comes in opposition to the backdrop of a declining marriage charge in China. Experiences point out that solely 6.1 million marriages have been registered final yr, marking a steep 20.5 % decline from the 7.68 million recorded the earlier yr. The rising reluctance of younger individuals to marry has been attributed to financial pressures, altering social norms, and a shift in private priorities. The controversy surrounding Shandong Shuntian Chemical Group highlights the tensions between conventional societal expectations and the evolving views of recent Chinese language staff.