China needs to take measures to safeguard the interests of employees in foreign-funded enterprises amid growing collective labor disputes in recent years, a political advisor said in Beijing Monday.

Foreign investment shall not be wooed at the cost of working conditions of employees, and the government should play a guiding role in coordinating employer-employee relations, said Zhang Guoxiang at the ongoing annual session of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the country's top advisory body.

Zhang cited a report by the CPPCC foreign affairs committee, saying that irregular employment practices, low wages, unreasonable workload, failure to keep in line with social security program, and lack of work safety measures are major causes of rising collective labor disputes.

The report, based on a survey of labor relations in Guangdong and Fujian provinces, says labor dispute arbitration organizations in Guangdong handled 17,000 cases involving foreign-funded businesses in 2005, up 69 percent over the previous year.

The CPPCC National Committee has urged the promulgation of a labor contract law and relevant laws as early as possible and the establishment of a mechanism to coordinate labor relations.

Foreign investors have established more than 570,000 businesses in China, employing 25 million people by the end of 2005. More than 480 companies on the list of Fortune Global 500 have made presence in China.

(Xinhua News Agency March 13, 2007)