China will work out a mechanism to ensure that migrant workers
are paid more, and on time, according to a recent document released
by the State Council.
To strictly implement the minimum wage system and gradually
improve the wages of migrant workers, who come from rural areas,
would be the core work of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security
this year, officials at the ministry said.
For one thing, there would be strict penalties on delayed
wages.
Statistics from the ministry show that there are 200 million
migrant workers, of whom 120 million moved from rural areas to work
in cities.
China would draw up a permanent plan to improve rural
infrastructure as part of an effort to boost agricultural
development and close the widening wealth gap between urban and
rural areas.
China has vowed to considerably increase investment in the
countryside so that urban and rural economies develop evenly.
The government would expand its agricultural budget and channel
its revenues from land-use charges and arable land occupation tax
to rural areas. Local governments would also set aside part of
their city construction budgets for rural areas.
The central government is likely to raise its 2008 rural budget
to some 520 billion yuan (US$72.2 billion) from 392 billion yuan in
2007.
An equal employment system for rural and urban laborers would
also be established, with farmers who have a stable job and
residence in cities having access to urban-resident status. Their
income, social security, housing and children's education would be
better protected.
(Xinhua News Agency February 7, 2008)
