
(BEIJING, February 4) -- "We have a monthly salary of 2,500 yuan on average, in addition to free meals and accommodation, a library, an Internet café, a movie projection area and other facilities to spend our off hours," Zhai Shusen told a reporter with Voice of America in an interview on Monday.
Zhai, a migrant worker from Central China's Henan Province, has been working for the Olympic projects in Beijing since 2003.
Although the main structure of the National Stadium, nicknamed the "Bird' Nest", has been completed, there will be 1,500 workers who go on the tail-off work at the site during the week-long Spring Festival holiday starting February 7.
"To help the workers spend a happy festival, we will organize a big evening performance on the eve of the Spring Festival," said an official, pointing to a makeshift stage full of decorative lanterns near the "Bird's Nest".
At the library, some migrant workers were looking over books. There are over 8,000 books available to readers, donations from various circles of the society.
"The workers also enjoy free medical registration and advice, with cheaper medicines; that benefits the workers," said a reporter with the Ukrainian TV Station.
The press was told that there is a 1,361 square meter Service Area for the Migrant Workers at the central zone of the Olympic Green, where many Olympic venues are located.
The service area has a reading room, a night school, a mini-supermarket, an IP telephone room to provide 24-hour long-distance service, a 9-computer Internet service room, a dinning room, a clinic and an open-air movie projection area.
For every worker, the night school is an indispensable education facility where they receive pre-work professional training. The teaching force has reached 570 and the trainees are entitled to free textbooks.
To ensure the safety of the workers, 4,000 safety supervisors have been appointed, with a proportion of one for 10 workers. They were chosen from the experienced workers with high awareness of responsibility.
Various circles of the society have extended support for the workers. The Central Hospital of the Aeronautics Industry Group has assigned four medical staff members to the clinic in the workers' service area. Other hospitals have provided free medical checkups for over 2,000 workers.