Employers in China Pressure Workers to Marry Amid Falling Birth Rates

Thu Aug 14 2025 19:21:37 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)
Employers in China Pressure Workers to Marry Amid Falling Birth Rates

A Chinese chemical company mandates staff to get married and start families within a designated timeframe, reflecting government concerns over declining birth rates.


Shandong Shuntian Chemical Group has drawn criticism for threatening to terminate workers' contracts if they do not marry and start families, amid a notable drop in marriage rates across China.



In a controversial move amid rising concerns over China's dwindling birthrates, the Shandong Shuntian Chemical Group has issued an internal memo urging its unmarried employees to marry and start families by September 30, or face termination. This mandate seems to reflect a growing trend among employers to intervene in the personal lives of their employees in response to a dramatic decline in marriage rates and birthrates across the country.

The memo explicitly stated, “If you cannot get married and start a family within three quarters, the company will terminate your labor contract.” This directive follows earlier warnings from a well-known supermarket chain that discouraged employees from asking for traditional betrothal gifts, presumably to ease the financial burden of weddings. Both corporate strategies have drawn widespread public backlash, primarily because many young Chinese face significant economic barriers to starting families and value their personal autonomy.

Statistics reveal the depth of the issue: in the previous year, only 6.1 million couples tied the knot in China, marking a striking 20 percent drop compared to the year before and the lowest figure since the government began tracking this data in 1986. The demographic crisis is evident, as the nation has experienced a population decline for three consecutive years. As workers contend with pressures from both their employers and societal expectations, the challenge to reconcile personal desires with economic realities continues to intensify.

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