The situation of farmer-turned migrant workers in China, who are fuelling the country's rapid growth but still find equal treatment a rarity, is improving, according to experts.

A range of measures have been introduced by the government, trade unions and communities to improve the lives of the group.

Making up almost half of the workforce in China's secondary and tertiary industries, farmer-turned workers have provided the cheap labour critical to the country's rapid development.

However, the 130 million migrant labourers have been long discriminated against in many aspects and become a marginalized group in cities.

Suffering underpayment and physical abuse in many places of work, some of them have become involved in violence and prostitution.

"To avoid potential social conflict, it is the right time for the country to do something to change the situation," said Xu Yong, professor in Rural China Studies at Central China Normal University.

Reforms of the household registration system has been conducted in several provinces, including Hebei, Hunan, Zhejiang, Shandong and Jiangsu, which aims to ease restrictions on the flow of rural residents to urban areas.

Household registration system

The household registration system is a major factor that discourages the free flow of rural residents into cities as the two areas have imbalanced social security systems, said Xu.

Additionally, the country is drafting its first law to guarantee migrant workers enjoy the same treatment and services available to their urban counterparts in terms of residence, employment, medical care and education.

The country's top trade union organization has also stepped up efforts to protect migrant labourers' social welfare, saying that contracts should be signed between every company and their employees to ensure they get their pay on a monthly basis.

Legal aid has also been extended to migrant labourers involved in disputes across the country.

Jilin Provincial Labour and Social Security Department has handed out free cards, illustrated with pictures and vital information on the Labour Law, to migrant workers since February.

"Up to now more than 40,000 packs of cards have been given to migrant workers, and most of them have showed great interest in the cards," said Wu Yunfei, an official from Jilin Provincial Employment Bureau.

"Playing cards is popular with migrant workers, especially in their free time. Putting details of the Labour Law on cards provides them with easily understood information in an entertaining way," said Zang Zhongsheng, director of Jilin provincial Labour and Social Security Department.

Several cities in Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta, the country's two most attractive destinations for rural labourers, announced plans last year to integrate all of its immigrant workers into the injury and medical insurance system.

Xihu District in Hangzhou, the capital city of East China's Zhejiang Province, even set up a community health club to cover its 3,000 migrant workers, offering free check-ups and cheap medicine.

Health files have been created for each member, so some free medical care may be offered to those most in need, said Li Jing, a senior official with the club.

For those female migrant workers who are more vulnerable to both gender and social discrimination, Nanjing municipal government in East China's Jiangsu Province has held regular lectures to educate them on various regulations and benefits, including maternity leave.

Major cities that boast large numbers of migrant workers have also designated a number of public schools to enrol children of migrant workers for compulsory education, while at the same time given practical help to the private schools set up by migrant communities.

In a document endorsed in January, the central government said that farmer-turned workers were a "new labour force that have contributed tremendously to urban prosperity, rural development and the country's modernization drive."

"It is the highest recognition granted to us so far. I believe it signals the central government's decision to give us a better situation," said Chen Zhongfu, a migrant worker from East China's Anhui Province who is now working on a construction site in Beijing.

(China Daily March 28, 2006)