China is seeking more inter-provincial labor cooperation by setting models as of early June.

Four pairs of provinces or cities - The national capital of Beijing and east China's Anhui Province, Guangdong Province in south China and Gansu Province in the northwest, Jiangxi Province in east China and Shaanxi Province also in the northwest, eastern Fujian Province and central Hubei Province - are expected to sign agreements on June 6 to officially organize the movement of migrant workers, who leave their homes to work in China's more developed cities and regions.

The labor input and output areas will offer position information and qualified laborers according to the agreements. The partnership is also expected to involve the long-standing cooperative mechanism between the two sides -- such as exchanging employment information, securing the rights of both employees and employers and training workers, said Liu Haihua, a spokesman for the All-China Federation of Trade Unions.

"The signing is aimed to set a mode of inter-provincial employment cooperation by official means. We hope for more collaborations among provinces and cities subsequently," she said.

China now has more than 100 million rural migrant workers, mainly peasant farmers who find it difficult to find jobs in cities without government help.

(Xinhua News Agency June 2, 2005)