Farmers from China's vast rural areas will face less barriers
finding work in cities, thanks to a new policy officially launched
last Friday.
The "Spring Breeze Action" simplifies documentation requirements
by listing ID cards as the most important for migrant workers to
present in order for them to register for urban jobs.
Other verifying documents are no longer compulsory, helping to
simplify procedures and reduce costs.
Zhang Xiaojian, deputy director of the Ministry of Labor and Social
Security, said authorities are taking prompt action to better
guarantee smooth and effective processing in the following
months.
Beijing is taking the lead, promising to create more than
100,000 jobs for the February-April period, a peak job-seeking
season among migrants after the Spring Festival holiday.
Almost 97 percent of posts will be suitable for workers with
high school training.
Song Fengjing, deputy director with Beijing Municipal Labor and
Social Security Bureau, said some 20 employment agencies are
responsible for related job services, all free of charge.
Around 13,105 available posts were listed as of this
weekend.
At the same time, Beijing's Public Security Bureau, Industrial
and Commercial Bureau and labor authority will work jointly against
illegal employment activities.
Zhejiang Province, a major destination for migrant workers, is
seeing an even greater inflow at the moment. Chen Min, director of
the Migrant Labor Service Center in the provincial capital,
Hangzhou, said the new policy is greatly welcomed by rural
workers.
Chen added that they had seen 4,000 people per day at the center
over the weekend.
The provinces of Shandong, Fujian and Henan have also rapidly
enacted the policy.
Guangdong Province, one of the country's economic powerhouses,
is witnessing a reduction in job seekers from outside the province
this year.
(China Daily February 21, 2005)