If someone doesn’t know what I’m referring to, 996 refers to working 9am-9pm 6 days a week, which some Chinese companies enforce (or enforced) on their employee. Jack Ma, for example, has spoken in support of it.
Wikipedia says that the Supreme People’s Court deemed it illegal in 2021. I don’t know about China’s court system in detail (or any country’s, really) but my understanding is that cases go to a higher court if someone successfully appeals the decision of a lower court. Shouldn’t something like a 72 hour workweek be stricken down before reaching the supreme court?
I’ve heard that Huawei still enforces this, for example. I don’t have sources because I’ve heard it from someone with Chinese acquaintances, so some fact-checking is appreciated.
This is exactly the thing you need to abolish 996, isn’t it? If there’s not enough jobs, then you can split one job between two people. Obviously it’s not that easy for every sector, but it should be feasible for factory work.
Which brings me to my next point: I guess 996 could be ignored if it’s only for the top tech companies and young people had other viable alternatives. A point of reference would be Silicon Valley. I’m aware they expect overtime there too, maybe less though, or maybe the same without a catchy name like 996, I don’t know. But if people working low income jobs are coerced to working overtime because their pay won’t be enough otherwise, then it seems like a big issue.