2008-08-05 09:24:30 CRIENGLISH.com

The Chinese Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security has set up a special department to safeguard the rights of farmer-turned-migrant workers in cities. The new department will help migrants get training and ensure safe working conditions.

Having shouldered tough jobs urban residents are normally unwilling to do, migrant workers often find themselves treated with unfair wages, casually extended timetables, scrimpy social security bills and even insults.

An article in Beijing News says there has long been the paradoxical social problem with both a shortage of rural workers and their difficulty in getting jobs. The new department may break the ice by strengthening management and public service for the country's 200 million migrant workers.

Three migrant workers have been elected as deputies and attended the session of the National People's Congress earlier this year to speak on behalf of the labor force, but the number is still far from enough.

The article says that, in fact, living conditions for rural workers are not only poor, but also vary greatly. For example, some bring their families along and some go it alone; some may be long-term residents whilst others may have to travel to city after city with unsteady jobs.

And to ensure management and services can match all these different needs, the article suggests that officials from the new department should go to a grass-roots level to get a real picture of migrant workers' lives.