Activists are calling for more supervision over labor exploitation in an online crusade spearheaded by software developers against the so-called 996 work schedule,which is widely practiced in China’s tech industry.
The rules-which require employees to work from 9 am to 9 pm,six days a week without overtime pay-came under fire after a programmer created 996.ICU,a page on code-sharing platform GitHub.com The page garnered immediate attention at home and abroad.
The name 996.ICU refers to a saying among Chinese developers that following the 996 schedule puts you at risk of ending up in an intensive care unit.
In the weeks that followed the creation of 996.ICU in March, the page has accrued almost 200,000 stars-which indicates popularity among users.
"What’s the difference between these 996 companies and the old landlords who oppressed peasants??? " said one post.
996.ICU was Github’s most book-marked project on Friday with over 176,000 followers.
Users listed tech companies the use the 996 schedule,and then created a licensing agreement that would ban such companies from using their codes.
The campaign against 996 work culture went viral on Weibo,drawing thousands of responses on China’s version of Twitter.
The 996.ICU page was soon blocked on multiple platforms including the messaging tool WeChat and the UC Browser.
The 996 schedule was allegedly first adopted in 2016 by 58.com,a major online classified advertisement site.
Jiang Ying,a professor at China University of Labor Relations and a leading expert on China’s Labor Law,said the rare protest by sleep-deprived tech firm employees underscored the difficulties facing workers who defend their rights.
“When resorting to the legal system for protection,there is a price to pay:time,money and the risk of losing your job. And as a result they took to cyberspace,” she said.
Employers are obliged to provide overtime pay,bonuses and welfare benefits to employees working overtime.But many company employees said ti was too much to hope for.
A senior developer with the e-commerce giant Alibaba,who asked not to be named to protect his career,said employers seldom say the schedule is compulsory,but failure to follow the rules could lead to low performance scores and layoffs.
"Defiant behavior can also lead to losing your annual bonus,which is a lot of money,"he said.
To better protect workers from harsh treatment,Jiang suggested that oversight should be beefed up,and systems for lodging complaints should be improved.
China’s Labor Law prescribes that the working hours of an employee should not exceed an average of eight hours daily,or 44 hours a week.
The 996 work schedule ,however,can easily ratchet up weekly work to 60 hours.
Jiang said tech firms represent the country’s most advanced productive force and should have the wisdom to adopt a more effective way to improve productivity.