Vice Premier Hui Liangyu said on Saturday that local government should seek every means to help migrant workers land jobs, calling it "a prominent and important task" in the current rural work agenda.

Hui made the remarks when he toured east China's Anhui Province. He urged local enterprises to guarantee job opportunities for migrant workers and asked infrastructure projects contractors to hire as many migrant workers as possible.

The vocational training for the migrant workers should be strengthened, Hui said.

Migrant workers were also encouraged to go back to their hometown to start their own business, and support should be given in bank loans, tax breaks and business registration, according to Hui.

Hui also urged local government to attach great importance to the fight against drought, which plagued more than 866,700 hectares of wheat in the province. He said rural water control facility construction should be speeded up.

He also asked local authorities to enhance the control of bird flu and foot-and-mouth disease.

(Xinhua News Agency February 1, 2009)