Less-educated elderly needs special care

Twenty-three sanitation workers aged 65 years or above in Xi'an, North China's Shaanxi province, were fired recently because of the contracting company's concerns about their "health and work safety", sparking a heated online debate. Comments:

Given the corporate-style functioning of the sanitation department, which is supposed to be a public welfare establishment, the priority of the contracting company will always be profits, even if that means paying workers as little as possible and not paying welfare allowances. The market oriented reform of such a public undertaking should follow certain public welfare norms. Emphasis should be laid on protecting workers' legitimate interests and rights.

Changsha Evening News, Aug 11