The improvement

In the past 30 years, one city after another has expanded on the mainland, the growth of these cities has greatly outstripped the wages paid to migrant workers. For years, migrant workers have had to work in harsh environments, living in cities like strangers or refugees without insurance, pensions, education or homes in which to settle down. As the country tries to bridge China's widening income gap, fair compensation for migrant workers is an issue at the top of the government agenda.

In January, three migrant laborers, Zhu Xueqin from Shanghai, Hu Xiaoyan from Guangdong and Kang Houming from Chongqing were elected as NPC deputies. This marks the first time that the migrant workers could sit down with the nation's decision makers as equals.

A healthy working environment, medical insurance, old-age pensions and low-rent housing are the problems migrant workers care most about, says Zhu, a native of Jiangsu province.

"The fact that I am elected to the NPC speaks for itself," Zhu says. "Thirty years after China launched its reform and opening-up drive, the role played by migrant workers and the contribution they have made are finally being given due recognition."

The Labor Contract Law, effective since January, makes it compulsory for companies to sign open-ended contracts with workers with more than two years' service and to provide insurance and overtime pay.

In 2007, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of China announced it would expand the coverage of the Housing Accumulation Fund to migrant workers, which means they can also be funded to buy apartments in cities.

"I want to settle down in Guangzhou. Here, you can learn so many things," Zhen says.