200 outsourced workers stop work: who are they striking against — the lessor or the lessee?
At an electronics factory in Thai Nguyen, 200 workers supplied under a labor sublease contract collectively stopped work, hanging banners demanding higher hazardous-duty allowances. The factory’s management (the labor lessee) was baffled: “They’re not my employees — who do I negotiate with?” The staffing company (the lessor) retorted: “They work at your plant — you deal with it.” The workers themselves didn’t know whether they even had strike rights.
This is the classic gray zone where labor subleasing collides with the right to strike.
Who is the employer of subleased workers?
Article 52 of the Labor Code 2019 defines labor subleasing as an arrangement where the worker signs a labor contract with the labor-subleasing enterprise and is then assigned to work for the lessee under a sublease contract. Article 57 confirms: the subleased worker is the worker of the subleasing enterprise — the employment relationship exists with the lessor, not the lessee.
Consequences: wages, social insurance, labor discipline and contract termination all sit with the subleasing enterprise. The lessee must ensure working conditions and occupational safety at the workplace and must not discriminate in working conditions between subleased workers and its own (Article 56).
Strike rights of outsourced workers: yes, but at the right “address”
Strikes are a collective worker right, but tightly circumscribed by law. Articles 198-199 of the Labor Code 2019 provide that the workers’ representative organization as a party to a collective labor dispute over rights may conduct procedures to strike; disputes over interests may lead to strikes only as prescribed by law. Strikes must follow negotiation and mediation — wildcat strikes skipping procedures are unlawful (Articles 204-205).
Applied to subleased labor:
- Subleased workers may join a strike organized by the workers’ representative organization at the subleasing enterprise — their actual employer in the employment relationship.
- They cannot stage their own strike at the lessee to demand benefits from the lessee, as no direct employment relationship exists between them. A spontaneous walkout at the lessee’s plant is a disciplinary violation.
- Where the dispute concerns working conditions at the lessee (hazard allowances, safety), the proper channel is: workers raise it through the subleasing enterprise → the lessor negotiates with the lessee under the sublease contract (Article 58) → if it becomes a collective dispute, the representative organization follows statutory procedures.
How should the lessee respond when “the line stops”?
- Do not negotiate or promise directly with subleased workers on wages or allowances — all commitments go through the subleasing enterprise to avoid inadvertently creating a direct employment relationship.
- Activate the sublease contract: require the lessor to supplement or replace workers to keep production running (per the Article 58 sublease contract).
- Coordinate with the lessor and local authorities to stabilize the situation; never use coercion or threats against those who stopped work.
- Review your own duties on workplace conditions and allowances — if the hazard-allowance demand is legitimate, work with the lessor on a solution within the contract framework.
Frequently asked questions
May subleased workers form a union at the lessee?
No. Subleased workers join the representative organization at the subleasing enterprise — where their employment relationship exists. The lessee is not their employer, so no right to form a representative organization there arises.
Can the lessee dismiss subleased workers who stopped work?
No — the lessee has no disciplinary authority over subleased workers. It may only require the subleasing enterprise to replace them under the sublease contract; discipline (including dismissal) belongs to the subleasing enterprise.
Does a subleased-workers’ strike disrupt the sublease contract?
Not automatically. The labor sublease contract (Article 58) remains effective; supplying sufficient workers is the lessor’s obligation. If the lessor fails to supply, the lessee may claim damages per the contract.
What must the subleasing enterprise do when its workers strike at the lessee?
It must step in as the employer: receive demands, negotiate, organize dialogue; and coordinate with the lessee to ensure safety and order at the workplace.
FLAT Law Firm: untangling the tripartite relationship
Labor subleasing is the most complex tripartite relationship in labor law — and strikes are its harshest stress test. FLAT Law Firm advises on robust labor-sublease contracts (Article 58), builds collective-walkout response playbooks, and represents enterprises in collective-dispute negotiation and mediation.
This article has been quality-reviewed by the FLAW AI Legal Council