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Migrant workers bear brunt of crisis

By Wu Jiao (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-11-21 07:23

Migrant workers carrying their belongings walk out of the Nanchang railway station in Jiangxi province November 20, 2008. Hundreds of thousands of workers have returned home from cities, becoming the worst victims of the global financial crisis. [Asianewsphoto]

Concerted efforts

The ministry is trying to include migrant workers in its unemployment registration network, making it mandatory for those who lose their jobs after having worked for more than six months in a city to be registered by local labor authorities.

The possibility of introducing services such as recommending new jobs and paying unemployment insurance to such workers is also being studied, Yin said.

The ministry is also considering providing unemployment-insurance subsidy for industrial units so that workers are not retrenched. It has asked large State-owned enterprises (SOEs) to shoulder their social responsibility and avoid laying off workers if possible.

The ministry has asked local labor and social security authorities to monitor struggling enterprises' operations, and ensure that firms don't lay off workers unnecessarily or excessively.

The authorities will also have to ensure that workers get easy access to labor dispute arbitration to prevent mass incidents.

The ministry said migrant workers who lose their jobs after having worked for a company for six consecutive months must get a one-time subsistence benefit and government-funded vocational training.

It also said arrear salary cases should be handled at the priority level to protect the interest of migrant laborers and maintain social stability.

In Hubei province, the influx of 300,000 people from cities has prompted some firms to seek the administration's approval to cut jobs to stabilize the job market.

Under an emergency program to deal with rising unemployment, large SOEs in Hubei were required to cut staff salaries this month before thinking of dismissing them. Large SOEs and SMEs need to secure the administration's approval to cut 50 or more people's jobs.

About 200,000 workers who have returned home from cities were re-employed in their hometowns in Hubei within two months.

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