Ten migrant workers were elected to the leadership of the Communist Youth League of China (CYLC) on Friday, in a sign that the organization is taking a serious approach to the needs of this growing group.

The migrant workers have been elected to represent 100 million of their peers at the 15th CYLC National Congress being held in Beijing.

The CYLC is the largest youth organization in the world with nearly 70 million members.

"I feel honored, because I am representing 100 million young migrant workers at this meeting," said 24-year-old Nian Xuefei, one of the migrant worker representatives.

"I hope that people will change their attitudes toward migrant workers after the current CYLC Congress," said Nian, who works at the Shijingshan District Branch of the Beijing Municipal Security Service Corp.

With the rapid urbanization and industrialization of China, more rural young people have flocked to cities to seek jobs.

They face many employment, business and educational problems. This growing group of people also adds to the local authorities' social security, sanitation and population management burdens.

CYLC Central Committee official Chu Feng said the organization was capable of helping the government handle the affairs related to migrant workers and helping them become members of the urban community.

Chu said the CYLC had launched a series of programmes since 1997 to improve young migrant workers' knowledge of policies and regulations, working skills, safety at work, family planning and sanitation.

More than 3,200 training schools had been established by the end of 2002, training over 28 million migrant workers.

(China Daily July 26, 2003)