The Experience and Enlightenment of Labor Legal System Construction in the Central Soviet Area — A Historical Investigation Based on *Red China*

*Red China* was first published in December 1931 and was once the official newspaper of the Provisional Central Government of the Chinese Soviet Republic. As an important medium for the Chinese Communist Party and the Soviet government to carry out revolutionary mobilization, public opinion propaganda, and work guidance, *Red China* is a historical witness to the early construction of the red political power of the CPC. The labor laws and their implementation status recorded therein vividly display the initial form of labor legislation in the history of red rule of law, reflecting from one aspect the theoretical and practical innovations of the Party's leadership in legal system construction.

《红色中华》创刊于1931年12月，曾是中华苏维埃共和国临时中央政府机关报。作为中国共产党和苏维埃政府开展革命动员、舆论宣传和工作指导的重要媒介，《红色中华》是中共早期红色政权建设的历史见证。其中记载的劳动法及其实施状况，生动展现了红色法治史中劳动立法的初始样态，从一个侧面反映了党领导法治建设的理论与实践创新。

In November 1931, the First National Congress of the Chinese Soviet Republic was convened, proclaiming the birth of the first nationwide red political power. This congress adopted the *Labor Law of the Chinese Soviet Republic* (hereinafter referred to as the *Labor Law*), which was formally implemented on January 1, 1932, later revised in light of developments, and re-promulgated in October 1933. This was the first labor law in the Central Soviet Area promulgated in the form of a national basic law, a landmark achievement of the Party's leadership in labor legislation.

1931年11月，中华苏维埃第一次全国代表大会召开，宣告了第一个全国性红色政权的诞生。这次大会通过了《中华苏维埃共和国劳动法》（以下简称《劳动法》），1932年1月1日正式实施，后根据形势发展进行修订，于1933年10月重新颁布。这是中央苏区第一部以国家基本法形式颁布的劳动法，是党领导劳动立法的标志性成果。

The legislative philosophy of the *Labor Law* had two aspects: first, serving the needs of the revolutionary war. "All work obeys war" was the basic policy of the Soviet regime. All laws and resolutions were aimed at establishing solid and extensive revolutionary base areas, creating a large-scale Red Army, organizing large-scale revolutionary war, enabling the revolution to achieve first victory in one or several provinces, and ultimately winning nationwide victory, "to implement labor laws, enhance the enthusiasm of the masses, so that every worker and peasant gives all their fervor and courage to support the Soviet regime." [1]1 "All work obeys war" was a basic policy slogan of the Chinese Soviet Republic, prioritizing all state activities toward supporting the military struggle of the Red Army. Second, safeguarding the rights and interests of the workers and peasants. The Soviet was the political power of the workers and peasants themselves. The *Constitutional Outline of the Chinese Soviet Republic* clearly stipulated: the Chinese Soviet regime aims at thoroughly improving the living conditions of the working class and formulates labor laws. At the Second National Congress of the Chinese Soviet Republic in January 1934, Mao Zedong's report of the Central Executive Committee and the People's Council again emphasized the legislative principles of the labor law: "Under the Soviet regime, workers are the masters. Workers lead the broad masses of peasants, bearing the great responsibility of consolidating and developing the Soviet. Therefore, the principle of the Soviet labor policy lies in protecting the interests of the working class and consolidating and developing the Soviet regime. Based on this principle, the labor law was promulgated in December 1931, revised in 1933, and re-promulgated."

《劳动法》的立法理念有二：一是服务于革命战争的需要。“一切工作服从战争”是苏维埃政权的基本方针。一切法令和决议，皆为了建立巩固而广大的革命根据地，创造大规模的红军，组织大规模的革命战争，使革命在一省或几省首先胜利，以至于取得全国的胜利，“实现劳动法令，提高群众积极性，使每个工农群众尽他一切热诚和勇气来拥护苏维埃政权”。二是保障工农群众权益。苏维埃是工人和农民自己的政权，《中华苏维埃共和国宪法大纲》明确规定：中华苏维埃政权以彻底地改善工人阶级的生活状况为目的，制定劳动法。在1934年1月中华苏维埃第二次全国代表大会上，毛泽东所作中央执行委员会与人民委员会的报告再次强调了劳动法的立法原则：“苏维埃政权之下，工人是主人翁，工人领导着广大的农民担负了巩固苏维埃与发展苏维埃的伟大的责任。因此苏维埃的劳动政策的原则是在于保护工人阶级的利益，巩固与发展苏维埃政权。根据这种原则，一九三一年十二月颁布了劳动法，一九三三年加以修改，重新颁布。”

The *Labor Law* consisted of twelve chapters and seventy-five articles. Its core content included: implementing the eight-hour work system, executing collective contracts and labor contracts, employing workers through trade unions and unemployment labor introduction offices, establishing a system of rest and leave, stipulating minimum wage standards, clarifying the legal status of trade unions, creating a social insurance system, and safeguarding the rights of female workers, young workers, and child workers. These provisions were the legalized presentation of the Party's political program, fully demonstrating the Party's nature, purpose, and spiritual character.

《劳动法》共十二章七十五条，其核心内容是：实行八小时工作制、执行集体合同和劳动合同、雇佣工人须经过工会和失业劳动介绍所、建立休息休假制度、规定最低工资标准、明确工会的法律地位、创立社会保险制度以及保障女工、青工和童工的权益等。这些规定是党的政治纲领的法治化呈现，充分彰显了党的性质宗旨和精神品格。

It should be noted that the formulation of the *Labor Law* was not accomplished overnight but was completed on the basis of drawing on relevant legal provisions of the Soviet Union and systematically summarizing some regional labor legislation. As early as August 1922, the Chinese Labor Union Secretariat had issued a nineteen-article *Outline of the Labor Law*, proposing a series of workers' rights. With the continuous development of the revolutionary situation, local governments began to explore labor legislation, producing legislative achievements represented by the *Shanghang County Labor Law*, the *Yongding County Labor Protection Law*, and the *West Fujian Labor Law*. Using these regional legislations as references, the National Conference of Soviet Areas held in May 1930 discussed and adopted the *Labor Protection Law*. The *Labor Law* was drafted and promulgated precisely on this basis, after expansion and improvement.

应当看到，《劳动法》的制定不是一蹴而就的，而是在借鉴苏联相关法律规定和系统总结一些区域性劳动立法的基础上完成的。早在1922年8月，中国劳动组合书记部曾发布《劳动法大纲》十九条，提出了工人的一系列权利。随着革命形势的不断发展，各地政府开始了劳动立法的探索，形成了以《上杭县劳动法》《永定县保护劳动法》《闽西劳动法》等为代表的立法成果。以这些区域性立法为参考，1930年5月召开的全国苏维埃区域代表大会讨论通过了《劳动保护法》，《劳动法》正是在此基础上进行扩充完善而拟定和颁行的。

The implementation of the *Labor Law* in the Soviet Area went through a tortuous process. Initially, some places had insufficient understanding of the significance of implementing the labor law, and coupled with the fact that some of its content was divorced from the level of economic and social development in the Soviet Area, its enforcement often became a mere formality. The Central Executive Committee, having discovered in practical work the problem of ineffective implementation of the labor law, made the supervision of labor law implementation one of the main links in improving Soviet work, strengthened supervision and inspection, and promptly revised outdated provisions, so that the *Labor Law* gradually came to be fully implemented in the Soviet Area.

《劳动法》在苏区的实施经过了一个曲折的过程。起初，有的地方对于劳动法的实施意义认识不够，加之部分内容脱离了苏区经济社会发展水平，故执行起来往往流于形式。中央执行委员会在实际工作中发现了劳动法执行不力的问题，便将劳动法实施的监督作为改善苏维埃工作的主要链环之一，加强监督检查，并及时对不合时宜的条文进行修订，使得《劳动法》在苏区逐渐得以全面施行。

In January 1934, the "Special Issue of the Second All-Soviet Congress" of *Red China* summarized the implementation status of the *Labor Law*: "Now in the Soviet Area, the eight-hour work system is generally implemented, and labor contracts and collective contracts have been concluded. In cities and many villages, labor inspection offices and inspectors have been universally established," "the establishment of unemployment relief agencies is also increasingly widespread, and unemployed workers have generally received concrete relief," "the social insurance system is established, and social insurance bureaus have been set up in every city of the Soviet Area." Moreover, workers' lives had greatly improved: "Real wages in various parts of the Soviet Area have generally increased compared to before the revolution." For example, the wages of carpenters in Tingzhou City increased by 32% compared to before the revolution, while those of workers in the cloth industry increased by 14.5 times; in Ruijin City, the wages of bricklayers and carpenters increased by 80%. It can be seen that the labor law was generally well implemented, which played an important role in stimulating the revolutionary enthusiasm of workers and consolidating the Soviet regime.

1934年1月《红色中华》“第二次全苏大会特刊”对《劳动法》的实施状况进行了总结：“现在苏区是一般的实行了八小时工作制，订立了劳动合同与集体合同。在城市内与许多的乡村内，已经普遍建立了劳动检查所与检查员”，“失业救济机关的设立，现在也日益推广了，失业工人一般得到了具体的救济”，“社会保险制度是确立了，社会保险局已建立在苏区各个城市中”。而且，工人的生活得到了很大的改善，“苏区各地的实际工资，比较革命前是一般的增加了”。比如汀州市木匠的工资比革命前增加了百分之三十二，布业工人则增加了十四倍半；瑞金市的泥水木匠工人增加了百分之八十。可见，劳动法总体上得到了较好的实施，这对于激发工人的革命积极性、巩固苏维埃政权发挥了重要作用。

The Party accumulated some valuable experience in leading the construction of the Soviet labor legal system. First, it emphasized supervision of legal implementation. To accurately understand the implementation of the *Labor Law*, the Central Executive Committee instructed governments at all levels to strengthen supervision, clearly specifying that labor departments and labor sections at all levels were responsible for supervising whether capitalists and employers complied with the *Labor Law*, and labor inspectors were established under labor departments and labor sections at all levels to specifically perform the duties of supervising and inspecting capitalists' and employers' implementation of the labor law. Second, it provided specialized protection in judicial procedures. For labor disputes, a distinctive labor court was established under the judicial department or judicial section, "specifically to handle cases where capitalists, foremen, and bosses violate the labor law and collective contracts and labor contracts. For such cases, the judicial organ must open court for trial within seventy-two hours from the date of receipt," "All violations of the labor law and all decrees concerning labor issues, collective contracts, etc., regardless of what criminal penalties they incur, shall be tried by the labor court of the people's court." [2]2 The labor court was a specialized judicial body established within the Soviet judicial system to handle labor disputes and violations of labor laws, reflecting the regime's emphasis on protecting workers' rights. For example, in April 1932, when workers at a woodworking factory in Ruijin County went on strike because the employer had withheld wages for three months, the county labor court accepted the case on the same day and ruled within three days that the employer must pay back wages and a fine of 50 yuan. Third, it adjusted the content of the law in a timely manner. The initial labor law's provisions on welfare benefits and labor protection exceeded the level of economic and social development of the Soviet Area at the time, causing resistance from some employers during implementation and making labor-capital relations difficult to sustain. Through investigation, it was found that when implementing the *Labor Law*, some places "often did not examine the local economic conditions and the actual living conditions and needs of the workers, and did not appropriately stipulate practical implementation methods, but instead forced implementation beyond local economic conditions. The result was that many capitalists were unable to bear the burden and closed their businesses, undermining the current economic policy of the Soviet and greatly affecting the economy of the Soviet Area, instead increasing the unemployment of many workers." [3]3 This passage is a direct quotation from a contemporary report or document criticizing the mechanical implementation of the labor law, highlighting the tension between idealistic legislation and practical economic conditions in the Soviet Area. To this end, the Central Executive Committee revised the *Labor Law*, focusing on adjusting three aspects: allowing employers to negotiate wage standards with trade unions on the premise of maintaining enterprise survival; reducing the employer's social insurance contribution ratio to 5%–8%; and clarifying that small business owners employing fewer than three people could temporarily not implement some provisions. These adjustments made the *Labor Law* more in line with the social reality of the Soviet Area, thus "enabling it to be applied appropriately to both cities and villages, and to both large and small enterprises."

党在领导苏维埃劳动法治建设过程中积累了一些宝贵经验。第一，注重法律实施的监督。为了准确了解《劳动法》的实施情况，中央执行委员会责成各级政府加强监督，明确各地劳动部和劳动科负责监督资本家、雇主是否遵守《劳动法》，并在各级劳动部和劳动科下设劳动检查员，具体履行监督和检查资本家、雇主执行劳动法的职责。第二，在司法程序中进行专门保护。对于劳动纠纷，在裁判部或裁判科之下设立颇具特色的劳动法庭，“专门解决资本家、工头、老板破坏劳动法及集体合同和劳动合同等案件，对于这种案件，裁判机关自接收之日起，在七十二小时内必须开庭审判”，“凡违犯劳动法及一切关于劳动问题的法令，集体合同等，无论他对于刑法受何种惩罚，都归人民法院的劳动法庭审理之”。如1932年4月，瑞金县木器厂工人因雇主拖欠3个月工资罢工，县劳动法庭当日受理，3日内判决雇主补发工资，并罚款50元。第三，适时调整法律内容。最初的劳动法中关于福利待遇及劳动保护等内容超出了当时苏区的经济社会发展水平，在执行过程中引起了一些雇主的抵制，导致劳资关系难以维系。经过调查发现，一些地方在执行《劳动法》时，“每每不考察当地的经济情形与工人生活的实际状况与需要，很适当的规定实际的实行办法，而是超过当地经济情形强迫去做，结果是许多资本家无力负担而且停业，破坏了苏维埃现时的经济政策，而使苏区的经济受大大的影响，反使许多工人失业增加”。为此，中央执行委员会对《劳动法》进行了修订，重点调整了三方面内容：允许雇主在维持企业生存的前提下与工会协商工资标准；将雇主缴纳社会保险费比例降至5％~8％；明确雇佣3人以下的小业主可暂不执行部分条款。这些调整使得《劳动法》更贴合苏区的社会实际，从而“对于城市与乡村，对于大企业与小企业，都能使之应用适当”。

The practice of labor legal system construction under the Soviet regime[4]4 The Central Soviet Area (中央苏区) was the largest and most important base area of the Chinese Communist Party during the Chinese Civil War (1927-1949), centered on Ruijin, Jiangxi province, where a Soviet-style government was established from 1931 to 1934. is a significant chapter in the history of red rule of law. It represents an important exploration by the Party, under conditions of partial governance, to bring labor relations into the orbit of the rule of law. Its legislative spirit and institutional design have accumulated into a distinct red legal gene. First, always adhere to the Party's leadership over legal system construction. The drafting, promulgation, revision, and supervision of the *Labor Law* were all carried out under the unified leadership of the Party. It is essential to deeply understand that the Party's leadership is the most fundamental guarantee of the socialist rule of law. Only by carrying out legal system construction under the Party's leadership can the correct direction and institutional attributes of the rule of law be ensured, can a positive interaction between top-level design and grassroots creativity be realized, can the people being the masters of the country be fully achieved, and can the rule of law in national and social life be advanced in an orderly manner. Second, fully safeguard the principal position of the people. Seeking happiness for the people is the fundamental value orientation of the Party's leadership in legal system construction. The *Labor Law* raised high the banner of protecting the rights and interests of the working class, stipulated in detail the various rights of workers, and initially constructed a rights relief system, embodying the legal concept of "relying on and serving the workers and peasants." Third, closely center legal system construction around the Party's overall work situation. During the period of revolutionary war, the Party's central task was to overthrow the "three great mountains"[5]5 "Three great mountains" (三座大山) is a standard CCP metaphor for the three forces that oppressed the Chinese people before 1949: imperialism, feudalism, and bureaucratic capitalism. of imperialism, feudalism, and bureaucratic capitalism, achieve national independence and people's liberation, and establish a people's democratic regime. The Soviet's labor legal system construction was closely integrated with and mutually supportive of the armed struggle at that time, becoming a powerful weapon for carrying out the revolutionary struggle and consolidating the fruits of the revolution. Fourth, accurately grasp the compatibility between legal system construction and economic and social development. Marx said: "Right can never be higher than the economic structure of society and its cultural development conditioned thereby."[6]6 This quotation is from Karl Marx, *Critique of the Gotha Program* (1875). The timely revision of the Soviet *Labor Law* fully embodied the legislative spirit of proceeding from reality, effectively ensuring the effectiveness of the law's implementation.

苏维埃政权的劳动法治建设实践，是红色法治史上浓墨重彩的一笔，是党在局部执政条件下将劳动关系纳入法治化轨道的重要探索，其立法精神和制度设计积淀为鲜明的红色法治基因。第一，始终坚持党对法治建设的领导。《劳动法》的起草、颁行、修订及监督，都是在党的统一领导下进行的。要深刻认识党的领导是社会主义法治最根本的保证，只有在党的领导下进行法治建设，才能确保法治的正确方向和制度属性，才能实现顶层设计与基层创造的良性互动，人民当家作主才能充分实现，国家和社会生活法治化才能有序推进。第二，充分保障人民主体地位。为人民谋幸福是党领导法治建设的根本价值指向。《劳动法》高扬保护工人阶级权益的旗帜，详细规定了工人的各项权利，并初步构建了权利救济制度，体现了“依靠工农群众、服务工农群众”的法治理念。第三，紧紧围绕党的工作大局开展法治建设。在革命战争时期，党的中心任务是推翻帝国主义、封建主义和官僚资本主义“三座大山”，实现民族独立、人民解放，建立人民民主政权。苏维埃的劳动法治建设与当时的武装斗争紧密结合、相互支撑，成为开展革命斗争、巩固革命成果的有力武器。第四，准确把握法治建设与经济社会发展的适配性。马克思说：“权利决不能超出社会的经济结构以及由经济结构制约的社会的文化发展。”苏维埃《劳动法》的及时修订充分体现了从实际出发的立法精神，有效保证了法律实施的效果。

(Author: Wang Mouyin, Associate Professor, School of Marxism, Tongji University)

（作者：王谋寅，系同济大学马克思主义学院副教授）