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Since the advent of market reforms, provisions for social insurance have been scattered throughout a patchwork of rules and regulations implemented at the national, provincial, and local level, including the 1995 Labour Law and 2008 Labour Contract Law. The passage of the Social Insurance Law in 2010 established the first comprehensive social insurance law in China, aiming to consolidate existing rules and regulations under a standardized national social security framework. Although some specific implementation details are established in the law, such as the contribution terms required in order to be eligible for pension and unemployment benefits, the Social Insurance Law functions more as a statement of broad principles, leaving most of the implementation details for future clarification via additional regulations at the national and local level. The law repeatedly affirms the policy established in the Labour Contract Law, that social insurance benefits remain with workers if they move to different locations, however as is discussed below, this principle has proved very difficult to implement on the ground. And enforcement of the law in general remains very lax, meaning that many workers are denied the social security benefits they are legally entitled to.

Mexico's senate has approved a wide-reaching labour reform bill in the biggest shakeup of the country's job market in more than four decades.

The bill, which the government said will create up to 400,000 jobs a year, contains a raft of measures, including changes that would make it easier for firms to hire and fire workers and shorten labour disputes. However, parts of the bill that sought to make unions more transparent were cut back.

Under the new measures, work contracts will be more flexible, enshrining trial periods and initial training contracts in labour laws. Regulations will be tightened on outsourcing of personnel, while the minimum wage will rise from an hourly to a daily rate.The reform strengthens the rights of working women, including outlawing gender-based discrimination and helping mothers plan their work schedules. Unions will have to publish their regulatory statutes on the ministry of labour's website, but many of the tougher measures – including rules to force them to show how they manage members' fees – were dropped.

The number of independent contractors has increased rapidly since the labor contract law was revised in 2007 to provide better protection for employees, said Uzhitu, vice-chairman of the NPC Finance and Economic Committee

Under the current law, employers can hire contractors to do temporary, supplementary or backup jobs. The proposed revision creates a clearer definition for these conditions. The bill also includes an article requiring agencies and employers to follow the principle of "equal pay for equal work" when negotiating payment for their contractors.