Guiding Opinions from the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and Other Departments on Accelerating the Cultivation of a New Era of Construction Industry Workers

The housing and urban-rural development departments (commissions, management committees, bureaus) of provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the central government, and cities specifically designated in the state plan, the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, the Development and Reform Commission, the Education Department (Bureau), the Industry and Information Technology Department (Bureau), the Human Resources and Social Security Department (Bureau), the Transportation Department (Bureau, Commission), the Water Resources Department (Bureau), the Market Supervision Administration, the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, the Beijing Municipal Planning and Natural Resources Commission, the State Taxation Administration's tax bureaus in provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the central government, and cities specifically designated in the state plan, regional railway supervision administrations, regional civil aviation administrations, the All-China Railway Federation, the National Committee of the China Civil Aviation Trade Union, the National Committee of the China Financial Trade Union, and the Joint Union of Central and State Organs: The Party Central Committee and the State Council have always attached great importance to the construction of the industrial worker team, formulating and implementing a series of policy measures to support the development of the industrial worker team. Construction industry workers are an important part of the industrial worker team in our country and are the foundation for the development of the construction industry, making significant contributions to economic development and urbanization. At the same time, it should also be noted that the current construction industry worker team in our country still faces issues such as large disordered mobility, prominent aging phenomenon, low skill quality, and inadequate rights protection, which restrict the sustainable and healthy development of the construction industry. In order to deeply implement the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, and accelerate the cultivation of a new era construction industry worker team (hereinafter referred to as construction workers), the following opinions are proposed.

1. Overall Approach Guided by Xi Jinping's Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, fully implement the spirit of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the second, third, fourth, and fifth plenary sessions of the 19th Central Committee, coordinate the promotion of the overall layout of "five-in-one" and the strategic layout of "four comprehensives," firmly establish a new development concept, adhere to a people-centered development philosophy, take advancing the supply-side structural reform of the construction industry as the main line, solidify the foundational capabilities of the construction industry, and aim to build a socialized and specialized collaborative construction worker team. Deepen the "delegating power, streamlining administration, and improving services" reform, establish and improve a system and mechanism that meets the requirements of the new era construction worker team building, and provide stronger talent support for the sustainable and healthy development of the construction industry and the promotion of new urbanization.

2. Work Objectives By 2025, a labor employment model that meets the characteristics of the construction industry will be basically established, construction workers will achieve corporate and professional management, and the rights protection mechanism for construction workers will be basically improved; a lifelong vocational skills training and assessment system for construction workers will be basically established, with more than 10 million construction workers at the intermediate skill level and above. By 2035, construction workers will have efficient employment and orderly mobility, a complete vocational skills training and assessment system, effective protection of construction workers' rights, and a significant increase in their sense of gain, happiness, and security, forming a knowledgeable, skilled, and innovative army of construction workers who uphold the spirit of model workers, labor spirit, and craftsmanship.

3. Main Tasks

(1) Guide existing labor service enterprises to transform and develop. Reform the labor qualification for construction services and significantly lower the entry threshold. Encourage labor service enterprises with certain organizational and management capabilities to introduce talents and equipment to transform into general contracting and specialized contracting enterprises. Encourage medium and large labor service enterprises to fully utilize their advantages to build labor employment information service platforms, providing information exchange channels for small and micro specialized operation enterprises and construction enterprises. Guide small and micro labor service enterprises to transform into specialized operation enterprises, further specializing and refining their operations.

(2) Vigorously develop specialized operation enterprises. Encourage and guide existing labor teams or construction workers with certain skills and experience to establish enterprises focused on operations, autonomously choosing 1-2 specialized operation types. Encourage regions with conditions to establish construction worker service parks, relying on "double innovation bases" and entrepreneurial incubation bases, to implement entrepreneurial support policies for qualified specialized operation enterprises and provide entrepreneurial services. Government-invested incubation bases and other entrepreneurial carriers should allocate a certain proportion of space to be provided free of charge to migrant workers who establish specialized operation enterprises. Encourage construction enterprises to prioritize local specialized operation enterprises, promoting local employment for construction workers.

(3) Encourage the establishment of construction worker training bases. Guide and support large construction enterprises to establish cooperative relationships with regions that export construction workers, build training bases for construction workers in the new era, and establish a relatively stable construction worker team based on these training bases. Innovate the service model of training bases, providing supporting services for specialized operation enterprises and planning career development paths for construction workers.

(4) Accelerate the construction of a self-owned construction worker team. Guide construction enterprises to strengthen the exploration and application of new construction methods and technologies such as prefabricated buildings and robotic construction, enhance intelligent construction levels, and promote the transition of construction workers from traditional construction methods to new construction methods through technological upgrades. Encourage construction enterprises to cultivate their own construction workers, absorb high-skilled technical workers and graduates from vocational colleges (including technical schools), and establish a relatively stable core technical worker team. Encourage qualified enterprises to establish chief technician systems, model worker and craftsman talent (employee) innovation studios, skill master studios, and high-skilled talent pools to effectively strengthen the construction of skilled talent teams. When awarding contracts, encourage contractors to prioritize enterprises with a high proportion of self-owned construction workers under equal conditions; when evaluating and selecting outstanding projects, prioritize those with a high proportion of self-owned construction workers.

(5) Improve the vocational skills training system. Improve the organization and implementation system for construction worker skills training, formulate vocational skill standards and evaluation specifications for construction workers, and improve the categories of occupations (types). Strengthen the role of enterprises as the main body of skills training, leveraging resources in design, production, and construction, and vigorously promote modern apprenticeship and new enterprise apprenticeship systems. Encourage enterprises to adopt various forms such as establishing training bases, school-enterprise cooperation, and purchasing social training services to address the disconnect between theoretical and practical training for construction workers, achieving an organic combination of skills training, practical training, assessment, and on-site construction. Promote a lifelong vocational skills training system, strengthen pre-job training and skills enhancement training for construction workers. Encourage localities to increase financial support for the construction of practical training bases, build public training bases in areas with significant gaps between supply and demand for skilled labor and high industry concentration, and support enterprises and schools in co-building industry-education integrated training bases. Explore the development of training related to intelligent construction, increase the training of construction workers in emerging occupations (types) such as prefabricated buildings and Building Information Modeling (BIM), and increase the supply of high-skilled talents.

(6) Establish a skill-oriented incentive mechanism. Localities should formulate basic staffing standards for skilled workers at construction sites based on project construction characteristics, clarify the proportion requirements for skilled workers of various occupations (types) at construction sites, and gradually raise the basic staffing standards. Guide enterprises to continuously improve the skill levels of construction workers, and for projects that employ a high number of skilled workers, the staffing ratio requirements may be appropriately lowered. Strengthen supervision and inspection of the skill levels and staffing standards of personnel at construction sites, incorporating the compliance with basic staffing standards for skilled workers into relevant integrity evaluation systems. Establish and improve a market-oriented information release mechanism for labor prices in construction occupations (types), providing information guidance for construction enterprises to reasonably determine construction worker salaries. Guide construction enterprises to link salaries with the skill levels of construction workers, improve incentive measures, and achieve a system where those with higher skills earn more and those who work more earn more.

(7) Accelerate the promotion of information management. Improve the national construction worker management service information platform, fully utilize modern information technologies such as the Internet of Things, computer vision, and blockchain to achieve real-name management of construction workers, labor contract management, training records and assessment information management, digital construction sites, work performance and evaluation, and other information management. Formulate unified data standards, strengthen data docking and mutual recognition between various system platforms, and achieve nationwide data interconnection and sharing. Strengthen data analysis and application, combine construction worker management data with daily supervision, and establish an early warning mechanism. Strengthen information security assurance work.

(8) Improve the long-term mechanism for ensuring wage payment. Implement the "Regulations on Ensuring the Payment of Wages to Migrant Workers". General contractors in the construction sector are fully responsible for the payment of wages to migrant workers, implementing systems for the management of special accounts for migrant workers' wages, real-name registration, and wage guarantees, and promoting a system where subcontractors entrust general contractors to pay migrant workers' wages. Jointly punish dishonest and illegal entities listed on the "blacklist" for wage arrears against migrant workers according to the law. Strengthen the dissemination of legal knowledge, increase legal aid efforts, and guide construction workers to protect their rights through legal means.

(9) Standardize the labor employment system in the construction industry. Employers should legally sign labor contracts with the construction workers they hire, and it is strictly prohibited to replace labor contracts with service contracts, regulating labor dispatch employment according to the law. General contractors or subcontractors must not allow construction workers who have not signed labor contracts and registered in real names to enter the project site for construction. Develop and promote simplified model labor contracts suitable for the characteristics of employment in the construction industry, increase labor inspection and law enforcement efforts, and fully implement the labor contract system.

(10) Improve the social insurance payment mechanism. Employers should legally pay social insurance for construction workers. For construction workers who cannot participate in work injury insurance through their employers, the general contracting enterprise is responsible for participating in work injury insurance by project, ensuring that work injury insurance covers all construction workers on site. Vigorously carry out work injury insurance education and training, promote safety production, and legally protect the occupational safety and health rights of construction workers. Encourage employers to establish enterprise annuities for construction workers.

(11) Continuously improve the production and living environment of construction workers. Localities should legally and timely issue residence permits for eligible construction workers, and employers should promptly assist in providing relevant certification materials to ensure that construction workers enjoy basic public services in cities. Fully implement civilized construction, ensure that construction sites are clean, standardized, and orderly, gradually raise environmental standards, and guide construction enterprises to carry out classified management of construction waste. Continuously improve labor safety and health standards and conditions, equip workers with safety helmets, safety belts, and other protective work clothing and labor protection supplies that meet industry standards, and establish unified dress codes. Set up shelters at construction sites as required and regularly conduct safety emergency drills. Encourage qualified enterprises to conduct pre-job, on-the-job, and post-job occupational health checks according to national regulations, and include workers' safety protection, improvement of working conditions, and protection against occupational hazards in equal negotiation content. Vigorously improve the living environment of construction workers' living areas, configure air conditioning, showers, and other facilities according to relevant requirements and project realities, ensure water and electricity supply, and smooth network communication. Concentrated living areas of a certain scale should be equipped with necessary facilities such as canteens, supermarkets, medical services, legal consultation, workers' libraries, and cultural and sports activity rooms, and encourage property management. Include construction workers who meet local housing security conditions in the housing security scope. Explore housing provident fund payment methods suitable for the characteristics of the construction industry and promote the payment of housing provident funds by construction workers. Increase the implementation of policies to effectively solve issues such as urban enrollment for children of eligible construction workers.

Four, Guarantee Measures

(1) Strengthen organizational leadership. Localities should fully recognize the importance and urgency of building the construction workers' team, strengthen departmental cooperation, establish coordination mechanisms, refine work measures, and solidly promote the construction of the construction workers' team. Strengthen the ideological and political guidance of the construction workers' team. Enhance the construction of ideological and cultural positions, deepen education on ideals and beliefs, cultivate and practice the core socialist values, and persistently educate and guide the majority of construction workers with Xi Jinping's Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. According to the requirements of the "Basic Configuration Guidelines for the Living Environment of Construction Workers on Site", "Basic Configuration Guidelines for Labor Protection of Construction Workers on Site", and "Basic Configuration Guidelines for the Working Environment of Construction Workers on Site" (see attachment), further refine and implement based on local realities, strengthen supervision and inspection, effectively improve the production and living environment of construction workers, and enhance labor protection levels.

(2) Give full play to the positive role of trade unions and social organizations. Fully leverage the role of trade unions, focus on strengthening the establishment of unions at the source (labor-exporting areas), at specialized operation enterprises, and at employing parties, and enhance the membership rate of construction workers. Encourage the use of existing industry associations and other social organizations to build a collaborative mechanism for cultivating construction workers, and establish an information service platform for construction professional labor.

(3) Increase policy support and financial tax support. For eligible construction enterprises, continue to implement relevant tax reduction and fee reduction policies in terms of taxes, administrative and public service fees, and government funds. Implement policies such as vocational training and assessment subsidies, and based on actual conditions, specify a certain proportion of construction installation project costs specifically for the skill training and assessment of workers on construction sites. For engineering projects that meet the skill worker allocation ratio on site, construction enterprises may appropriately reduce the expenses for skill training and assessment of construction workers for that project. Guide construction enterprises to establish cooperative partnerships for cultivating construction workers, set up platforms for cultivating construction workers, jointly fund the training of construction workers, pool project training funds, and coordinate the use of funds to improve fund utilization efficiency. Guide enterprises to fully extract employee education funds for employee education and training, strengthen supervision and management, and ensure that funds are used specifically for their intended purpose. Provide training subsidies for eligible personnel participating in vocational training in the construction industry and high-skilled talent training.

(4) Vigorously promote the spirit of model workers, the spirit of labor, and the spirit of craftsmanship. Encourage construction enterprises to vigorously carry out job training, technical exchanges, and skill competitions, expand participation coverage, fully mobilize the enthusiasm of construction enterprises and construction workers to participate, and improve vocational skills; strengthen education on professional ethics and norms, continuously improve the overall quality of construction workers, and vigorously promote and cultivate the spirit of craftsmanship. Adhere to the correct public opinion orientation, publicize and interpret the significant significance, goals, tasks, and policy measures of the reform of the construction workers' team, and timely summarize and promote good experiences and practices in the reform of the construction workers' team. Increase publicity for the selection of model workers among construction workers, vigorously publicize advanced models within the construction workers' team, and create a good atmosphere where labor is the most glorious, labor is the most noble, labor is the greatest, and labor is the most beautiful.