BEIJING, June 28 (UPI) -- China plans a 2-month effort to crack down on illegal labor practices, especially the use of child and slave labor.
The Ministry of Labor and Social Security announced the national drive Wednesday, Xinhua, the official government news agency, said.
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Investigators have been checking small brick kilns, coal mines and workshops in Shanxi Province. Hundreds of slave laborers, many of them children, have been rescued.
The investigation began when parents went public about children who had been kidnapped and forced to work.
The ministry said any officials found to have collaborated in the use of slave labor face severe punishment.