Chinese legislators have helped millions of migrant workers get defaulted wages and shut down tens of thousands of small, illegal coal mines in the past years, as part of their efforts to supervise the government's work and promote social harmony, top legislator Wu Bangguo said Saturday.

Wu, chairman of the Standing Committee of the 10th National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, made the remarks while delivering a report on his committee's work over the past five years.

Migrant laborers from rural areas, whose number is estimated at 210 million, have become a pillar of the country's work force, but they face various problems, including pay arrears, work-place injury compensation, health care and their children's schooling.

Wu said that legislators found in 2003 in their inspections, visits and appealing letters from ordinary citizens that many migrant workers' wages were defaulted.

The finding prompted the NPC Standing Committee to call on governments at all levels and concerned departments to adopt effective measures to solve the problem.

Statistics show that as of the end of 2006, all arrears due to rural migrant workers in cities since 2003 or before, totaling 33.7 billion yuan (4.7 billion U.S. dollars) had been paid, Wu said.

(Xinhua News Agency March 8, 2008)