National Human Rights Action Plan of China (2016-2020)

I. Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

The Chinese government is determined to press forward with precision poverty-reduction and poverty-eradication campaigns, improve the public service system, steadily enhance the level of equal access to basic public services, and protect citizens' economic, social and cultural rights.

(1) Right to work

More proactive employment policies shall be implemented, a system of lifelong vocational skills training shall be promoted for workers, and a wage and benefits system shall be further improved, so shall a long-term safety production mechanism. Prevention and treatment of occupational diseases shall be reinforced.

? Ensuring a fuller rate of employment and quality employment. Programs of employment promotion and entrepreneurship shall be introduced for college graduates, and surplus rural labor shall be encouraged to seek employment in other areas, and migrant workers shall get help in starting businesses back in their home villages. People with difficulties in finding jobs shall be registered so that the government can keep track of their employment situation and give them help according to defined categories, with particular attention being paid to families with no one holding a job. Counties and townships in poverty-stricken areas shall be given support in building employment and social security services platforms. It is planned for a minimum of 50 million new jobs to be created in urban areas.

? Pursuing a lifelong vocational skills training system for workers. Free vocational training shall be offered to young people from needy families, people with junior or senior middle-school education, migrant workers, people having lost their jobs, workers with reassigned jobs, ex-service people and people with disabilities. By 2020, it is expected that 40 million migrant workers shall have received such training, and the goal is to equip every worker with relevant occupational skills.

? Further improving the wage and benefits system. Efforts will be made to improve the wage-setting mechanism, the normal wage increase mechanism and payment guarantee mechanism, and the minimum wage adjustment mechanism. The collective wage negotiation mechanism shall be continuously implemented for enterprises; a salary system shall be improved for highly skilled professionals, the salaries of skilled workers be increased, and the paid vacation system be implemented.

? Improving the labor security supervision and law enforcement system and labor dispute settlement mechanism. Employment discrimination of any form shall be strictly prohibited. Measures will be taken to address arrears of wage payment for migrant workers, regulate layoffs by businesses, guarantee the rights and interests of workers informally employed, strictly regularize the application by enterprises of the special working-hour system, and strengthen supervision over labor dispatch pursuant to the law.

? Strengthening safety in production. By 2020 the death toll caused by industrial accidents of various types shall fall by 10 percent cumulatively, and the death rate from industrial accidents per RMB100 million of GDP shall drop by 30 percent.

? Strengthening the prevention and treatment of occupational diseases. In industries with high risks of occupational diseases, 90 percent and above of relevant workers shall receive special health checkups, and 95 percent and above of persons in charge of businesses and occupational health managerial staff shall receive the required training.

(2) Right to basic living standards

Full efforts shall be made to reduce poverty, and ensure basic housing, clean water, food security, and convenient transportation.

? Ensuring the increase of rural and urban residents' income in step with economic growth. By 2020 China's GDP and the per-capita income of urban and rural residents shall both double that of 2010. Efforts shall be made to increase the income of low-income earners, and enlarge the ranks of middle-income earners.

? Implementing the Decision of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Eradicating Poverty in China, and implementing the strategy of precision poverty-reduction and poverty-eradication. By 2020 some 30 million people shall be lifted out of poverty by way of developing specialty industries, 10 million by way of transfer employment, 10 million by relocation to other areas, and the remaining 20 million, who have partially or completely lost the ability to work, shall be covered by social security. In this way the whole of the impoverished rural population according to the current standards shall be lifted out of poverty and no county will be called a "poverty county" by then.

? Ensuring housing security. A total of 20 million units of housing in rundown urban areas shall be rebuilt, support strengthened to poor areas, and holders of residence permits ensured equal basic housing rights with locally registered residents. Efforts shall be made to press forward with renovation of dilapidated housing in rural areas, carry out anti-earthquake reinforcement projects for rural housing, and basically complete the renovation of registered dilapidated housing.

? Ensuring access to safe water. A total of 27 billion cu m of water supply capacity will be added nationwide on the current basis, and all urban water-supply sources shall meet the required standards. Efforts shall be made to improve drinking water security in rural areas, where 80 percent of the population shall have access to tap water, and 85 percent to centralized water supply.

? Ensuring food safety. The Food Safety Law shall be strictly enforced, and supervisory organs shall be held responsible for food safety in areas under their respective jurisdiction. Food safety supervision shall be strengthened on imported foodstuffs, and through the building of a professional team of food-safety inspectors, the supervision shall be made more effective. The system of food-safety credit shall be improved, so shall the mechanisms of protection of consumers' rights and interests.

? Improving the transportation network. A network of national trunk expressways shall be basically put in place. Where conditions permit, county seats shall have access to highways of Grade II and above, and townships and administrative villages have tarmac or cement roads and complete access to bus services.