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Trade union congress salutes migrants

By Guan Xiaofeng (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-10-18 09:59

China's working classes are the driving force behind the creation of a well-off society, Vice-President Xi Jinping said on Friday, the opening day of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions' 15th national congress in Beijing.

In his speech, delivered on behalf of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Xi called on trade unions to "earnestly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of workers, better voice employees' opinions and coordinate labor relations".

For the first time in the congress' history, this year's event is being attended by 47 representatives of the country's massive migrant workforce.

Most of them are employed in the manufacturing, construction, urban sanitation and restaurant sectors.

Wang Zhaoguo, chairman of the ACFTU, said on Friday: "Rural migrant workers have added new strength to China's working class."

About 66 million of them are now members of the federation, he said.

Sun Chunlan, vice-chairman of the ACFTU, said trade unions have strengthened their work in protecting the rights and interests of workers, especially farmers-turned-migrant workers.

For example, over the past five years, unions across the country have helped win back more than 43 billion yuan ($6.3 billion) in delayed pay owed to migrant workers, she said.

Also, in cases where people's rights were violated, such as the brick kiln slavery scandal in Shanxi Province and the underpaying of workers by some fast-food restaurants, trade unions responded swiftly and firmly, dispatching teams of investigators to fight for justice, she said.

Furthermore, unions now provide free legal advice to workers across the country via a network of 6,178 legal aid agencies, which by the end of last year had handled more than 29,000 labor dispute cases, Sun said.

Also, during last year's Spring Festival, as well as helping to organize 187 special trains and almost 66,000 buses to transport migrant workers home for the holiday, trade unions across the country helped arrange the booking of 7.2 million group tickets and won government subsidies of 110 million yuan to help pay for them, she said.

The unions have also done a good job in setting up and operating job agencies and vocational training agencies, Sun said.

As of the end of last year, unions had established 2,761 job agencies across the country and found jobs, completely free of charge, for 7.1 million people.

They had also built 2,924 vocational training agencies and helped 3.4 million laid-off workers find new jobs, she said.

Friday's opening meeting was attended by President Hu Jintao, along with more than 1,600 representatives from across the country.

The congress runs until Tuesday.