A total of 4,713 suggestions have poured into the Standing
Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) via Internet and
mail since the public was invited on March 25 to comment on the
draft employment promotion law.
Discrimination in the employment market is an issue of top
concern among Chinese citizens.
Some people wrote to the NPC outlining a variety of
discriminations that exist in the labor market. Among these was
mention of China's 120 million hepatitis B virus carriers, most of
whom suffer discrimination when seeking jobs.
According to public complaints, the labor market also
discriminates against women, the disabled, rural laborers, and
those who have not received higher education.
Some complained that employees in state-owned enterprises are
divided into two types -- officially contracted workers and
temporary workers. Even though they do the same jobs, the former
earn higher wages and enjoy social insurance, while the latter are
paid less and have no social insurance.
Some people said the draft employment law does contain some
provisions against discrimination, but they are too general. They
believe the law should specify the legal responsibility of
employers who discriminate against certain employees.
Free employment services needed
Another complaint was that organizers of government-sponsored
job fairs only care about admission fees rather than how many job
seekers manage to find a job at the job fairs.
"Government-sponsored employment services should be free," they
argued.
Other people described the phenomenon of unlawful job agencies
cheating migrant workers of their money under the guise of
providing job opportunities for them.
They suggested the law contain detailed provisions to crack down
on illegal job agencies. Because the registration fee for opening a
job agency is so low, it's easy for scammers to start a business.
Some suggested that the government increase the registration fee to
screen out illegal employment service providers.
More services for university graduates
One criticism of the employment promotion law was that it lacks
provisions offering legal support for the employment of university
graduates.
They said university graduates do not have enough capital to
start their own businesses, so the law should be amended to support
university graduates who want to become entrepreneurs.
Other people said that since the state encourages university
graduates to work in remote and underdeveloped western areas, the
law should ensure that they enjoy government-backed social
insurance.
The Ministry of Labor and Social Security warns that 1.4 million
university and college graduates are unlikely to find jobs when
they finish their studies this summer.
Among the more than 4,000 suggestions, there are also some
suggestions about providing favorable employment policies for the
disabled, senior laid-off workers, and farmers who lose their
farmland.
(Xinhua News Agency April 5, 2007)