A total of 4,713 suggestions have poured into the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) via Internet and mail since the public were invited on March 25 to comment on the draft employment promotion law.

Discrimination in the employment market is one of the issues of most concern.

Some people wrote to the NPC saying that a variety of discriminations exist in the labor market. For example, China has 120 million hepatitis B virus carriers. Most of them suffer discrimination when seeking job.

The labor market also discriminates against women, the disabled, rural laborers and those who have not received higher education.

Some complained that employees in state-owned enterprises are divided into two types-- officially contracted workers and temporary workers. Even though they do the same jobs, the former earn higher wages and enjoy social insurance, the latter are paid less and have no social insurance. This is a clearly discriminatory.

Some people said the draft employment law does contain some provisions against discrimination. But they are too general and "toothless".

The law should specify the legal responsibility of employers who discriminate against certain employees, and should have "teeth".

FREE EMPLOYMENT SERVICES NEEDED

Some people said organizers of government-sponsored job fairs only care about admission fees rather than how many job seekers manage to find a job at the job fairs.

"Government-sponsored employment services must be free," they argued.

Other people described the phenomenon of unlawful job agencies cheating migrant workers of their money under the guise of providing job opportunities for them.

They suggested the law contain detailed provisions to crack down on illegal job agencies.

They said the registration fee for opening a job agency is too low, and suggested that the government increase the registration fee to screen out illegal employment service providers.

MORE SERVICES FOR UNIVERSITY GRADUATES

Some people claimed that the employment promotion law should offer legal support for the employment of university graduates.

They said university graduates do not have enough capital to start their own businesses. The law should add provisions to support university graduates who want to start their own businesses.

Other people said that since the state encourages university graduates to work in remote and backward western areas, the law should ensure that they enjoy government-backed social insurance.

The Ministry of Labor and Social Security warns that 1.4 million university and college graduates are unlikely to find jobs when they finish their studies this summer.

Among the more than 4,000 suggestions, there are also some suggestions about providing favorable employment policies for the disabled, senior laid-off workers and farmers who lose their farmland.