Controversial regulation - company threatens unmarried employees with dismissal - now authorities intervene

A chemical company in China has withdrawn a controversial policy under pressure from the authorities. This policy required employees to either marry or leave the company. The Hong Kong newspaper "South China Morning Post" reported that the company wanted to increase the marriage rate among its approximately 1,200 employees. Therefore, a new policy was introduced in January.

Anyone who had not married by the end of March would have had to write a letter criticizing themselves. If the marriage had not taken place by the end of June, the company from the eastern Chinese province of Shandong would have carried out an "evaluation," according to the "South China Morning Post." It remained unclear what exactly was meant by this. Employees who remained single by the end of September were to be dismissed.

In addition, the company planned to enforce policies requiring employees to adhere more closely to traditional Chinese values. This would have affected all single and divorced employees of the company between the ages of 28 and 58.

However, shortly after the regulations came into force, the authorities intervened. The case sparked criticism on China's social media.

The Chinese government itself is trying to encourage young people to marry more often and start families. Among other things, it is relying on less bureaucracy and financial incentives. Both marriage rates and birth rates have been declining in China for years.

Figures from " Statista " show that 9.54 million babies were born in China last year and a total of 9.02 million in 2023. For comparison: in 2014 the number was 16.87 babies and in 2016 it was even 17.86 million.