Seventy-six percent of Chinese migrant workers get no bonuses for working overtime in holidays, said a report by the research center of the State Council.

According to the report, migrant workers generally work for extra hours and under stress without extra pay. Some employers even hold out their pay to force them work overtime.

A 2004 survey by the National Statistics Bureau showed that migrant workers worked 11 hours a day and over 26 days a month.

China's Law of Labor states that people should not work more than eight hours a day and no more than 44 hours a week.

If overtime is necessary, the law requires the employer to ask the trade union for its agreement and overtime must be on a voluntary basis and should not exceed three hours a day

Besides working overtime without pay, the report also pointed out that migrant workers generally get low pay or delayed payment. Some employers pay migrant workers just as the basic line required by the government, which does not take into account bonus for extra hours.

"It has become a most outstanding issue in income distribution in China," the report said.

Source: Xinhua