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
.