Top labor official Zhang Zuoji pledged over the weekend to enhance
macro-control of the employment structure, unemployment and
information on the labor force to face the "still austere"
employment situation.
The employment situation is still tough although 66 percent of the
workers laid off by State-owned enterprises (SOEs) between 1998 and
the first half of this year have found jobs again, said Zhang,
minister of labor and social security.
He
said most laid-off workers receive assistance from
government-funded re-employment centers and almost all are given
regular living allowances while they are out of work.
However, the contradiction between people's need for full
employment and the swelling labor force still stands out and the
gap between training requirements of some newly emerged industries
and professions and the low quality of the labor force is wide,
Zhang said.
The surplus rural laborers swarming into big cities have put new
pressure on those looking for a solution to unemployment problems,
he added.
Zhang made the remarks on Saturday while reporting to senior
national legislators on the employment situation and on the
government's measures to solve the problem.
He
said the government's measures include tax reductions, loans
granted on preferential terms (to firms that employ laid-off
workers) and social security insurance subsidies to help improve
the situation.
The government plans to develop its rural economy at a faster pace
to create more job opportunities for farm laborers. It will also
axe all kinds of restrictions that impede rural surplus laborers as
they seek jobs in the cities, he said.
More concrete measures will be taken to control unemployment, Zhang
said.
Enterprises on the edge of bankruptcy will have to submit a clear
scheme on how they plan to arrange for their employees and set
aside enough funds for such arrangements before they are allowed to
begin bankruptcy proceedings. The SOEs should report to local
governments in advance if they are planning lay off a number of
workers that exceeds the limit set by the labor authorities.
(China
Daily October 28, 2002)