Luo Taojiang, a transient worker from Hunan Province, is a familiar figure at the Xuwen County Legal Aid Centre.

The shoe-polisher has insisted on cleaning staff members' shoes for free every day since the centre helped her win compensation from a driver who killed her husband in a traffic accident.

Some 77,000 migrant workers have similarly benefited from Guangdong's legal aid service, established in 1997, reports Nanfang Daily.

In the more affluent Pearl River Delta, more than 95 per cent of those applying for legal aid come from outside Guangdong.

Officials pledged to make the service more accessible to the 10 million migrant workers in Guangdong after the State Council's Legal Aid Regulations went into effect this month.

Shenzhen's legal aid service has waived the income threshold for migrant workers seeking damages for physical injuries. And all labour disputes involving more than 10 yuan (US$1.20) will be processed free of charge.

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