Hard-up provinces will have 'significant problems' scraping together welfare funds for the three million state workers scheduled to be laid off this year, the Labour and Social Security Minister said yesterday.
Plans to sack at least three million state firm workers would cost the Government 24.5 billion yuan (HK$22.7 billion) in social security payments, Zhang Zuoji said.
'So far, provincial governments have managed to solicit only 19.5 billion yuan,' Mr Zhang told the financial and economic committee of the National People's Congress (NPC).
'The shortage of such funds is particularly serious in Liaoning, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Sichuan, Shaanxi and Inner Mongolia.' Mr Zhang admitted provincial authorities faced difficulties collecting social security contributions from firms and recovering those misappropriated by cadres.
He called on all provincial governments to readjust their budgets to make sure that they gave priority to social security payments.
NPC Chairman Li Peng said the legislature should supervise some State Council departments and provincial governments to ensure those laid off were looked after.
