B2 – Upper Intermediate
An employee surnamed Zhou held a quality assurance role at a tech firm. The company, pointing to AI-driven improvements and a need for efficiency, tried to move Zhou to a different role and reduce their monthly salary from 25,000 yuan (about US$3,655) to 15,000 yuan. After Zhou refused the salary reduction, the company terminated their employment.
Zhou quickly filed for labour arbitration and requested compensation for being unfairly dismissed.
The court found that the new role, with its significant pay cut, was not a reasonable offer for reassignment. As a result, it ruled the firing illegal and ordered the company to compensate the employee.
Read the article about the Chinese court ruling prohibiting firms to lay off workers on AI grounds.
Vocabulary Questions:
- What does “to be hinged on something” mean? “The dispute largely hinged on whether eliminating a job through AI adoption constitutes an objective major change in circumstances under China’s Labour Contract Law.” Use the idiom in a sentence. Give a synonym.
- Differentiate “arbitration”, “mediation”, and “litigation”. “According to the country’s Labour Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Law, parties must first take their disagreements to mediation and arbitration commissions; if dissatisfied with the verdict, they can then pursue litigation.” Use each term in a sentence.
Discussion Questions:
- Share your insights on Zhou’s case and the court’s ruling.
- Should companies be prohibited from firing employees simply to replace them with cost-saving artificial intelligence? Share your opinion.
- What are your thoughts on this, “If AI restructuring is necessary, corporations should prioritise retraining staff.”?
- How can workers’ rights be protected against AI?
- Do you believe AI will create more jobs than it replaces in the future? Explain your answer.