By Zhong Xiaowu (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-11-08 05:31

With most of the Three Gorges local residents moving out of the reservoir region and relocating, the Chongqing municipal government has begun to concentrate on their employment issues.

Chinese doctors check residents relocated from the Three Gorges reservoir region at a village in Southwest China's Chongqing municipality January 11, 2007.[Xinhua]

A recent conference held by the municipal government has decided to give priority to addressing the new settlers' employment, with an aim of building a well-off and harmonious new society.

Because of unfavourable natural conditions, such as high mountains, barren land and a large population, the Three Gorges region in Chongqing Municipality has lagged behind in economic and social development.

Therefore, the government plans to solve the problem first by exporting the region's abundant rural labour force surplus.

At present, the region has 6.38 million rural labourers. Among them, more than 3 million labourers are working outside the region.

Last year, these rural workers received an income of 11.8 billion yuan (US$1.475 billion), a 63 per cent contribution to the farmers' income increase in the region.

The municipal government estimates that 200,000 rural labourers annually will hunt for jobs outside farms in the coming five years.

The municipal government has realized that rational use of abundant labour resources and the export of labour services in a systematic way is an important way to push the Three Gorges region's economy forward.

According to a plan made at the conference, the municipal government will establish a managing system that includes organizing, training, exporting and managing the rural labour force.

With such a system, rural labourers will become more competitive and secure in the labour market.

Shi Tai'an, 36, a farmer, is famous in Kaixian County in the region.

His legend of "beginning with 13 yuan (US$1.6) at the age of 16 and making 50 million yuan (US$6.25 million) in 20 years" has been widely spread among locals.

At 16, Shi left the region and started as an ordinary worker engaging in dismantling houses in Kunshan City, in East China's Jiangsu Province.

Finally, he set up his own company specializing in dismantling houses and made a fortune. Following in his footsteps, an army of more than 10,000 labourers from Kaixian County have dominated the city's market of dismantling houses.

"In recent years, we have established several bases for labour services exports in major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou," said Liu Xiaoming, an official with the county's labour force development and management office.

To strengthen the rural labourers' competitiveness, the municipal government has made every effort to provide more training to improve their vocational skills.

The Three Gorges Technical School in Fengdu County, for example, trained and exported 4,166 rural labourers last year.

This has greatly promoted economic development in the labourers' hometowns.

Some successful migrant workers not only bring back their income but also return to establish businesses, creating more job opportunities for local people.

(China Daily 11/08/2006 page12)