Chartered flight takes migrant workers home for Spring Festival
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-01-23 14:43

Li Qiujing, 24, felt she was a lucky dog indeed when she boarded an airplane for the first time in her life.

The textile worker at Baode Apparels Co. was one of the 130 migrant workers in Quanzhou, a manufacturing base in east China's Fujian Province, who were privileged to take a chartered flight to their hometown in southwestern Sichuan Province Sunday, a week before the Chinese New Year.

The special flight was sponsored by the Quanzhou Trade Union and 46 local businesses who have set up trade unions to safeguard the migrant workers' rights and interests.

Most of the 130 passengers' fares were subsidized by the trade unions: 26 people from poverty-stricken counties were offered a free trip and the others paid no more than 300 yuan each (37.5 U.S. dollars), about the same price as a train ticket.

"It's my third trip home in eight years," said Peng Guohua, 42. "My previous two train rides during the pre-holiday rush were extremely tiring, crowded and took two or three days each."

Peng and Li are both workers at Baode Apparels Co.. "We two feel really lucky. But it's a pity so few people have the privilege -- we have at least 100 fellow townspeople at the company," she said.

"Peng and Li are among our best employees," said Gong Yichang, president of the company's trade union. "We hope they will recommend more hardworking and innovative people from their hometown to boost our business expansion."

Quanzhou Trade Union has offered the chartered flight service to migrant workers from Sichuan Province because they were the earliest to come and have proven to be valuable employees, said Fu Furong, the union's vice president.

"Besides the flight service, we have also chartered sleeper coaches to help migrant workers get home during the pre-holiday travel peak," he said. "By doing so we aim to express thanks to the migrant workers for their contribution to Quanzhou's economic development, and to show our respect for hardworking and talented people."

At least 1 million migrant workers are working in Quanzhou, 600,000 to 700,000 of whom are expected to join the mass migration back to their hometowns before the Chinese New Year's eve on January 28.

"More than 20,000 trade unions at grassroots are working to facilitate their travels by helping them get tickets for trains, ships and buses," said Fu.

Last year, the Quanzhou Trade Union chartered express trains to help some migrant workers get home, he said.

Trains and long-distance buses are particularly crowded and tickets can be sold out well in advance as millions of people embark en masse on the Chinese New Year trek to hometowns or holiday destinations for the week-long break. Many people are forced to stand up during their long journeys.

The situation worsened last week as heavy snowstorms hit central China, which stranded more than one hundred thousand travelers.

In an effort to build a harmonious society and care for those in need, the Chinese government is showing extra care these days for the well-being of the migrant workers, particularly rural workers seeking their fortune in cities, whose number is estimated at 140 million and is still growing by 3 million every year.