BEIJING, March 12 (Xinhuanet) -- The All-China Federation of Workers' Union has pledged to make greater efforts to help 120 million migrant workers from the countryside, in response to the call by Premier Wen Jiabao in his government report to the ongoing parliamentary session.

    In his report, on March 5, Wen called for further resolving the employment, social security, and educational problems faced by China's rural needy farmers.

    Participants in the annual sessions of the National People's Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) have voiced their concerns on the situation of these migrant laborers, one of the most vulnerable groups in the country.

    Migrant workers are often not paid in full, do not have access to medical services and pensions, face public discrimination, and have little say on important issues.

    "Social contradictions caused by infringements on the migrant workers' rights have been increasingly remarkable, casting a direct impact on social stability," said Lin Qingmin, chairman of Dalian's municipal people political consultative conference and a member of the CPPCC National Committee.

    Transient workers from China's countryside have emerged to be anew type of labor force since the country began transforming from a command economy to the socialist market-oriented economy.

    They have made an enormous contribution to the cities' prosperity, rural development, and the country's modernization, says a State Council document issued on January 18.

    In recent years, trade unions have begun offering a hand to migrant labors under a slogan which calls on these people to look for help from trade unions when they are in trouble.

    As of 2005, of approximate 40 million transient workers in the construction engineering industry, 35 percent, or over 11 million, have joined the trade unions.

    According to the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, this year, 6.5 million more of them are expected to be admitted into trade unions, while by 2008, 70 percent of migrant workers will become union members. Enditem