DATE=3/7/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=CHINA ECON - PROTESTS (L-ONLY) (CQ)
NUMBER=2-259920
BYLINE=STEPHANIE MANN
DATELINE=BEIJING
INTERNET=YES
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Top Chinese officials have acknowledged the
government is concerned about labor unrest, as it
proceeds with economic reforms and workers are laid
off. VOA's Stephanie Mann reports, the officials also
told a Beijing news conference the state-owned
industrial sector is expected to lay off five million
more workers this year.
TEXT: Labor Minister Zhang Zuoji says 11-point-seven
million factory workers lost their jobs last year, as
part of the effort to cut the losses in China's
unprofitable state-owned sector. He says four-point-
nine million were able to get new jobs, leaving six
and a half million still out of work.
Mr. Zhang says over the past few years there have been
- in his words - some mass activities, or protests, by
laid off workers who did not receive living
allowances, and by retired workers who did not get
pensions. He did not say how many protests there
have been.
Since China began closing or merging unprofitable
state-run factories two years ago, protests by laid
off workers or pensioners have been reported in
Sichuan and Henan provinces as well as in the far
northeast, China's industrial rust belt.
At the same news conference, the Chairman of the State
Economic and Trade Commission, Sheng Huaren, said the
government attaches great importance to social
stability and must take that into account as it
proceeds with the reform of the state economic sector.
/// SHENG ACT IN CHINESE, FADE UNDER ///
Mr. Sheng says some workers can not understand why the
government has adopted policies that include closing
factories and putting them out of work. He says the
reform program must take into consideration both the
constraints of the government budget as well the need
to provide jobs for workers. And he says any protests
must be addressed immediately to make sure the
situation remains stable.
// REST OPTIONAL //
Labor Minister Zhang says 10 percent of the laid off
workers did not receive their stipends last year and
two percent of retired workers did not receive their
pensions in full or on time. He says steps are under
way to try to ensure those payments are not missed
this year.
This is the last year of the three-year program to
reform the state sector. Mr. Sheng says of the six-
thousand-599 large and medium state enterprises that
were losing money when the reforms began, nearly half
have wiped out or reduced their deficits. And he says
the goal of getting the state sector out of debt by
the end of this year could be achieved.
The labor minister says to reach that target, five
million more workers are likely to be laid off this
year. He says that will keep the total number of job
losses at 11-point-five million -- about the same
level as last year. (SIGNED)
NEB/SMN/FC/KL
07-Mar-2000 12:10 PM EDT (07-Mar-2000 1710 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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