The Chinese government helped migrant workers recover more than one billion yuan (US$154 million) in overdue salaries and other compensation during the first quarter, when a special campaign was launched against companies in default on payments.

Violators were ordered to pay 1.066 billion yuan to 935,000 migrant workers nationwide, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said in a release here on Saturday.

Also in the first quarter, the ministry launched programs to help migrant workers find jobs and obtain written employment contracts to protect their rights.

The ministry vowed to continue its efforts to prevent wage arrears and strengthen supervision of migrant workers' employment. It also pledged to step up work related to safety and the prevention of occupational diseases and extend migrant workers' coverage under workers compensation for industrial injury and medical insurance.

As of the end of March, 40.88 million migrant workers were covered by insurance on industrial injury nationwide, up 1.22 million during the first quarter, and 33.61 million migrant workers were covered by basic medical insurance, up 2.3 million, ministry statistics showed.

In a related development, 11 provinces and municipalities applied higher minimum wages to migrant workers. The minimum monthly wage varies among locations, but in Beijing, for example, it increased from 640 yuan in 2006 to 730 in 2007.

(Xinhua News Agency May 4, 2008)