The Chinese government will "severely" punish illegal employment while following a "vigorous" employment policy, said Premier Wen Jiabao here Wednesday.

"We will improve the handling of labor disputes and oversight for worker protection measures," he said in his report to the First Session of the 11th National People's Congress opening here.

The authority will strictly enforce the Employment Promotion Law and the Labor Contract Law and urge enterprises to sign labor contracts with their employees in line with the laws, he said.

The Premier admitted that providing adequate employment opportunities in China, the most populous in the world, is a "daunting challenge."

"We must redouble our efforts to increase employment, a matter that is crucial to people's wellbeing," Wen said.

When elaborating how "vigorous" the employment policy will be, he said that the government will expand employment by encouraging business startups.

People are encouraged to find jobs on their own or start their own businesses while the government will strengthen vocational training and training in how to start a business, he said.

It will also support citizens to establish small enterprises, he said.

Wen also envisioned in his report a human resources market with uniform standards for both urban and rural areas, as well as an employment system that "treats urban and rural workers equally."

The government will also carry out policies to find more jobs for people with physical and mental disabilities and create a permanent mechanism to help zero-employment families find jobs.

(Xinhua News Agency March 5, 2008)