The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's legislature, began examination on Monday of the draft law on employment promotion.

"A law on employment promotion is urgently needed given our current situation," said Minister of Labor and Social Security Tian Chengping when briefing the Chinese lawmakers on the country's employment situation on Monday.

According to Tian, China's present employment figures are disappointingly low and the long-term outlook is not "optimistic." Statistics show that at least 13 million new job opportunities need to be annually created in urban areas for laid-off workers, university graduates, demobilized servicemen, and migrant workers.

The draft law states that China will implement coordinated employment policies in both urban and rural areas, so as to provide equal employment opportunities for the labor force. Under new regulations, governments above the county level will be required to establish an early warning system to prevent, regulate and control possible cases of large-scale unemployment.

An important stipulation prohibits discrimination against job seekers on account of ethnicity, race, gender, religious beliefs, age, or physical disability. The law also states that government-run employment service agencies must provide free services to the labor force and are prohibited from commercial operations.

The three-day 26th session of the 10th NPC Standing Committee opened on Monday.

(Xinhua News Agency February 26, 2007)