Yao Changjie, deputy director of the Distribution Bureau of the State-owned assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) of the State Council, presented proposals to reform pay scales within state-owned enterprises (SOE) to a "Labor in China" forum on October 21, reports Caijing Magazine.

The first proposal is to supervise and manage the total wage bills of SOEs to ensure that pay levels and total wage costs of SOEs are in line with company performance, the company's ability to pay, and the prevailing market price of labor.

In addition, the commission will improve its statistical analysis of labor costs. The commission has set up a labor costs database and will begin carrying out wage comparisons and other investigations in the labor market in the near future. Meanwhile, a new method of setting pay scales, in which boards of directors will play a leading role, will be piloted.

The commission will also draw up regulations to improve the oversight of salaries paid to directors in some experimental enterprises. According to the regulations, SASAC rather than enterprises will pay the salaries of directors who are sent abroad.

For more details, please read the complete story in Chinese:

(http://www.caijing.com.cn/2008-10-22/110022059.html)

(China.org.cn by Xiang Bin October 22, 2008)