I. Guarantee of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

In 2009 and 2010, the state will take proactive and effective measures to offset the negative impacts of international financial crisis, and ensure the economic, social and cultural rights of all members of society.

(1) Right to work

Efforts will be made to promote employment and re-employment, and guarantee the legitimate rights and interests of workers.

- Coordinating the rural and urban employment situations in accordance with the Law on Employment Promotion to secure the growth of employment. In 2009 and 2010, an additional 18 million urban workers will be employed and 18 million rural laborers will move to cities or towns and find jobs there. The registered urban unemployment rate will be kept below 5 percent, and the priority is to find employment for college graduates and rural migrant workers.

- Widespread introduction of labor contracts will involve encouraging collective contracts, improving the mechanism of coordination among employers, employees and the government, implementing the minimum salary system and steadily raising workers' salary levels in accordance with the Labor Contract Law.

- Expanding vocational training to bring the total number of skilled workers to 110 million nationwide, with technicians and senior technicians accounting for 5 percent of all skilled workers and senior workers accounting for 20 percent of all skilled workers.

- Adhering to the principles of "safety first, with focus on prevention and taking comprehensive measures to guarantee production safety," strengthening labor protection, and improving production conditions in accordance with the Law on Safe Production. The goal is to reduce the number of deaths caused by industrial accidents per 100 million yuan GDP by 35 percent compared with the figure for 2005, and the deaths per 100,000 workers in factories, mines and businesses by 25 percent.

- Solving labor disputes fairly and promptly to promote harmonious and stable labor relations; tightening supervision over salary payment, spreading the practice of employer leaving a deposit in banks to guarantee salary payment, and affixing the legal liability of deliberate default on payment in accordance with the Law on Mediation and Arbitration of Labor Disputes.