Multiple universities have responded! Local intervention investigation, multiple fresh graduates from different regions claim to have been terminated by the same listed company Reporter | Innovation | Listed Company
At the end of May this year, many recent college graduates exposed on social media that Innovation Airlines, a Hong Kong listed company that provided them with employment notices during their autumn recruitment last year, suddenly called to terminate the tripartite agreement and pay a penalty of 3000 yuan after termination.
Red Star News reporters learned that college students from various regions who were notified to terminate their contracts by China Innovation Airlines have recently spontaneously formed WeChat and QQ groups to share the process of their sudden termination.
Faced with the situation of sudden unemployment near graduation, several interviewed students who were terminated from the tripartite agreement by China Innovation Airlines told Red Star News reporters that missing the "Golden Three Silver Four" school recruitment season has made it difficult for them to find new jobs.
In response to this, several universities have reported to reporters that China Innovation Airlines has stopped its spring recruitment this year. For unfriendly enterprises, they may be blacklisted by the provincial employment system in the future. In addition, the Jiangsu Changzhou Human Resources and Social Security Bureau also responded to reporters that the bureau has intervened in the investigation of this incident.
Terminated students:
The company only said that the contract needs to be terminated due to business adjustments
Compensation for breach of contract of 3000 yuan
"There were hardly any signs of sudden termination of the contract by phone, and now the entire company, including HR, cannot be reached. They only said that the contract needs to be terminated due to business adjustments." On the morning of May 25th, the reporter contacted Yang, who had just been notified to terminate the contract by China Innovation Airlines. He told the reporter that he received the employment notice from China Innovation Airlines through the campus recruitment website application in December last year and also received a gift from the company in January of this year.
"Looking back now, it was probably after entering May that the company became a bit unusual." Yang, who was about to graduate from Liaoning University of Science and Technology with a major in Mechanical Automation, recalled that in early May, the company notified him by phone to adjust his job position. He was scheduled to work as a process engineer at the company's Wuhan base at the time of signing the contract, and then transferred to work in material recycling at the Meishan base in Sichuan. Due to the unchanged basic salary of 6100 yuan per month, Yang immediately accepted the company's arrangement.
"Later, the company also created a group for job changes, with more than 50 people in the group, who said it was to explain job responsibilities." However, Yang discovered that starting from mid May, members of the group, whether in the group or in private chat, would not reply to inquiries about onboarding, file transfers, and other matters. Around May 20th, multiple WeChat groups where Yang was located were suddenly disbanded by staff from the company's human resources department. "We called to ask what was going on, but found that the phone was no longer answered."
Yang told reporters that at noon on May 23rd, he suddenly received a phone call from the company's HR, saying, "Due to changes in the company's business, the contract needs to be terminated, and each person will be compensated with a penalty of 3000 yuan." Subsequently, Yang received an email from the company requesting him to fill in his bank account for the convenience of subsequent compensation for the penalty.
The reporter saw that in the tripartite agreement signed between Yang and China Innovation Airlines, it was written: "Both parties must fully fulfill the agreement. If one party terminates the agreement improperly or violates the provisions of this agreement, they shall bear the corresponding breach of contract liability and pay a penalty of RMB 3000 to the other party."
A similar experience also happened to Wang. At the age of 26, he is a fresh master's student majoring in materials at a university in Xi'an. Last September, he signed a tripartite agreement with China Innovation Airlines through autumn recruitment. But on the afternoon of May 24th, he received a call from the company's HR, who also claimed to terminate the contract due to changes in the company's business and compensate a penalty of 3000 yuan for breach of contract. "After notifying the other party, hang up the phone without responding to any questions or providing any further explanation," said Wang.
"I have been notified of the termination of the contract, but I have not received any financial compensation yet, and the company has not issued a termination letter, so I am unable to sign a new tripartite agreement with the new unit." Yang said that due to the delay in obtaining the termination letter, the school is unable to issue a new tripartite agreement, and the terminated students are also unable to find new jobs. "My request is to send the termination letter as soon as possible and provide us with additional compensation."
Company Human Resources Department:
Currently, school recruitment has been completely suspended
There have also been layoffs and salary cuts within the company
Zhongchuangxin Aviation Technology Co., Ltd. is a listed company headquartered in Changzhou, Jiangsu. According to the company's official website, China Innovation Aviation is a leading global new energy technology enterprise, formerly known as "Sky Energy Limited". It was officially listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in October 2022. At present, the company has established multiple industrial bases in Jiangsu, Fujian, Hubei, Anhui, Guangdong, and other regions.
As a leading global power battery new energy enterprise, the company claims to maintain the top growth rate in the global industry. But in March of this year, according to media reports, the verdict of the case of domestic power battery leader Ningde Times suing China Innovation Airlines for unfair competition showed that China Innovation Airlines was found to have violated the Anti Unfair Competition Law and needs to compensate Ningde Times with 3.7 million yuan.
The lawsuit between CATL and China Innovation Airlines goes beyond that. Starting from 2021, Ningde Times has filed a lawsuit against China Innovation Aviation for infringement of five battery patents, including "positive electrode plates and batteries" and "current collector components and batteries". As of March this year, there have been three first instance judgments on patent litigation cases, with Ningde Times winning all cases and receiving a total compensation of 60.06 million yuan. The judgments in these three patent cases were all made by the Fuzhou Intermediate People's Court. China Innovation Airlines stated at the time that it would appeal the above judgment of the Fuzhou Intermediate People's Court to the Supreme Court and currently does not need to pay compensation to Ningde Times.
Recently, a Red Star News reporter called the human resources department of the company, and a staff member told the reporter that the company has completely stopped campus recruitment and only recruits ordinary positions in society. But for the specific reasons behind the concentrated termination of contracts for fresh graduates, the staff member said, "I only heard that the headquarters is undergoing job changes, so the termination occurred."
According to a report from "Country+Community", a staff member of the company previously responded, "Starting from May 24th, we will gradually communicate with the students about the termination of the contract, and the company will compensate according to the requirements of the tripartite agreement."
In addition, the personnel department staff of China Innovation Airlines mentioned above also revealed to Red Star News reporters that there have been layoffs among frontline employees within the company, and some frontline engineers have seen some degree of salary cuts.
Wang told reporters that according to his understanding, large companies like China Innovation Airlines usually conduct campus recruitment in spring and autumn, but he did not see any new campus recruitment notices from the company in March or April this year. Regarding this, the reporter also asked several employment offices of universities, and relevant staff stated that China Innovation Airlines did not conduct spring recruitment this year, but the specific reason is unknown.
"When employers come to campus for recruitment, large-scale lectures, and job fairs, the school will review the company's qualifications, but has no right to interfere with the wishes of students," a staff member from the Academic Affairs Office of a university in Nanjing told reporters.
A staff member from the employment office of the school also stated, "We usually conduct qualification audits on campus recruitment companies. If the companies engage in unfriendly behavior, such as terminating students without reason, they will be blacklisted on the provincial employment system website." Currently, the school has not received a report of a large number of students being terminated by China Innovation Airlines.
But a staff member from the academic affairs office of a university in Hebei responded to reporters that some students have indeed reported being terminated by China Innovation Airlines. "At present, the school is unable to intervene forcefully. We will reassess the company and reconsider whether it can participate in the school recruitment in the future."
A Red Star News reporter called the Changzhou Human Resources and Social Security Bureau in Jiangsu regarding the matter of concentrated termination. A staff member said, "Currently, multiple students have reported this matter to the bureau, and the department has intervened in the investigation. If there are any investigation results in the future, they will promptly provide feedback to the students."
Lawyer's interpretation:
Unilateral termination of tripartite agreement
What responsibilities should enterprises bear?
Does the tripartite agreement signed between fresh graduates and enterprises enjoy the same legal protection rights as labor contracts? Fu Jian, director of Henan Zejin Law Firm, told Red Star News that there are still certain differences between the two. The so-called tripartite agreement, abbreviated as the National Employment Agreement for Graduates of Ordinary Higher Education Institutions, is a written expression that clarifies the rights and obligations of graduates, employers, and schools in the employment of graduates. The agreement is uniformly printed by the Ministry of Education and can serve to constrain graduates, employers, and schools.
The labor contract, on the other hand, records the rights and obligations of the employee and the employer, and serves as a legal document for the establishment of labor relations. "Legally speaking, tripartite agreements are generally guaranteed by the" Interim Provisions on Employment of Graduates from Ordinary Higher Education Institutions "," Civil Code ", and" Contract Law ", while the conclusion of labor contracts and disputes arising from them are mainly resolved based on the" Labor Law "and" Labor Contract Law "."
"The behavior of the company involved is legal, but it may be unethical." Fu Jian pointed out that the tripartite agreement signed between the graduate and the company is an appointment contract, and the appointment contract is also binding on both the student and the enterprise. If one party of the enterprise fails to fulfill the obligation to enter into a labor contract as stipulated in the appointment contract, it should bear the liability for breach of contract. "In addition, due to the special status of fresh graduates, one party of the enterprise is obliged to inform the other party of the student's intention to terminate the contract in advance. Otherwise, the enterprise should still bear the responsibility for the expanded losses, and the student has the right to claim compensation for the losses."
Ding Xiang, a lawyer at Beijing Zhongdun Law Firm, also told reporters that after the tripartite agreement is signed normally, both parties should comply with the agreed breach of contract liability for compensation. "If the agreed liquidated damages are not sufficient to compensate the students' actual economic losses, and the students can provide evidence to prove that the actual losses are greater, they can request the company to continue claiming the difference compensation based on the actual losses."
Lawyer Ding Xiang also reminds students that when signing a tripartite agreement with a company, they must review the company's various qualifications, and can also use relevant software to check whether the company has frequent labor disputes or litigation information, as well as information about being a dishonest debtor. Secondly, students should also pay attention to the reasonableness of the amount of liquidated damages in the agreement.
Wang Hui, a lawyer from Beijing Jingshi Law Firm, believes that schools also have an obligation to review the companies they recruit. For work units that students contact through channels other than campus recruitment, they also have an obligation to assist students in the review. The school should conduct certain examinations or investigations on the units where students are about to join.
"Increasing the review process can not only avoid student losses to a certain extent, but also serve as a way to fulfill school guidance and help students find employment. As for unfriendly enterprises, schools should establish a blacklist system and no longer allow them to recruit on campus," said Wang Hui.
