Government urges better service for migrant workers

A document issued by the central government recently asks governments at all levels to do a better job of providing service for rural migrant workers and promoting their settlement in urban areas, according to the website of the central government.

The document, entitled Opinion on Doing a Better Job in Serving Rural Migrant Workers, says rural migrant workers have become the pillar of the country's industrial workforce and contribute tremendously to its economic and social development.

However, there are inadequate public services available to rural migrant workers and a large number of those who have long worked in urban areas have yet to become urban residents, it says.

According to the document, by the year 2020, the country will have guided about 100 million rural migrant workers to become urban residents in their nearby areas in central and western China. It will also have tried to realize its goal of helping about 100 million rural residents who no longer work in the agricultural sector and migrants who have long lived in urban areas become urban residents.

The document asks governments at all levels to ensure that rural junior high school graduates and senior high school graduates who fail to enter senior high schools and colleges can receive vocational training. It also asks schools to offer evening classes to train rural migrant workers.

The paper suggests the same pay for both rural migrant workers and urban residents if they do the same work. It also asks for more coverage of rural migrant workers by urban social insurance.

Public schools offering compulsory education must open to the children of rural migrant workers and consideration has to be given to such workers in local housing development plans, the document says.