Some 68 percent of 30,000 migrant workers in major Chinese cities said they faced discrimination from urban residents who do not "fully accept" them, according to a survey by Shanghai's Fudan University, the China Daily said.

Only 7.6 percent of the respondents said they were satisfied with their urban lives, partly because of a lack of time to study and improve job prospects, the paper said.

More than 80 percent of the migrants, who typically take dirty and dangerous jobs shunned by city dwellers, said they worked more than eight hours a day, while 18 percent said they toiled over 10 hours a day, the report said.

Only 16.4 percent of the migrant workers had more than five days a month off and 55 percent had less than two days off a month, it said.

China is in the midst of an unprecedented urbanisation drive, with farmers and rural workers flocking to cities in search of better livelihoods as the nation's economy booms.

The average monthly wage for a migrant worker reached 1,200 yuan (165 dollars) in 2007, up 200 yuan over the previous year, but 22.2 percent said they were unable to save anything as their incomes only covered living expenses, the survey said.

The migrant worker survey came out after fewer than one in eight Chinese said in another poll last week that they were happy at work, with most complaining about dead-end jobs and wages eroded by record inflation.

Related Links
China News from SinoDaily.com

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS Solar Energy Solutions Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ... Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News