Chinese dissidents call for independent unions

A group of Chinese dissidents has issued an open letter calling for workers in China's state enterprises to be allowed to form independent unions.

The group said workers should have the right to protect their wages and pensions in the face of increasing redundancies within state firms.

President Jiang Zemin told the Party Congress recently that the country's transition to a market economy would be speeded up and this would mean job losses.

A BBC correspondent says tens of millions of workers could be made redundant and such figures make it highly unlikely that the authorities will heed the dissidents' call.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service