Official urges more reforms for China's income distribution to narrow income gap

A press conference on the function of Chinese trade unions during the transformation of the pattern of economic development is held on the sidelines of the Third Session of the 11th National People's Congress in Beijing, China, March 9, 2010. (Xinhua/Yuan Man)

A senior official said on Tuesday that the Chinese government should exert more effort to reform the income distribution mechanism and bridge the nation's income gap.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao pledged on March 5 that the government would gradually increase the proportion of income individuals receive from the distribution of national income, as well as the proportion of the primary distribution of income that goes to wages and salaries.

Zou Zhen, head of the social security department of the All China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU), proposed that the implementation of those guidelines should become a criteria in rating the performance of government officials and state-owned enterprise heads.

Zou made the remarks on the sideline of the annual session of the National People's Congress now meeting in Beijing.

A survey made by ACFTU last September showed 75 percent of those employees polled believed the current income distribution system is unfair.

Zou called for more measures to raise the minimum wage standard, which should reach 40 percent to 60 percent of the local average level.

He noted that employers and employees should meet to discuss reaching wage agreements, notably among non-public and private businesses.

He also suggested increased social security input and improving the taxation system, which should be given full play in bridging the income gap. Also, revenues of the monopolistic industries should be subjected to close scrutiny.