Representatives of 29 city governments along the Yangtze River, China's longest, have gathered in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality to discuss and likely sign an agreement on the protection of rights of migrant workers.

The cities include Shanghai, Nanjing, Wuhan and Chongqing.

At the two-day conference that opened on Monday, the representatives said they will put an end to regulations and employment practices that discriminate against migrant workers. They also plan to improve the social welfare system for migrant workers who will include covering medical services and providing injury insurance, according to an official with the Chongqing Development and Reform Commission.

The official said talks will be held on how to provide unified services to migrant workers who move from province to province. The 29 cities have vowed to do a better job in developing labor contracts, ensuring payment and providing community services for migrant workers.

"We work toward providing legal aid and schooling for their children," the official was quoted by the local Chongqing Morning Post as saying.

The agreement to be signed will require each of the 29 cities to provide information about its labor force requirements on Internet that will be available to migrant workers from other cities.

Under the accord, training bases will be jointly built by the 29 cities and employment records will be kept.

The goal of the cities is to build a fair, unified labor force market for both urban and rural areas and establish an employment system based on fair competition.

Employers who treat migrant workers unfairly will be penalized, the official added.

(Xinhua News Agency November 28, 2006)