The Chinese Communist Party has asked employers in the country to increase salaries and improve training, just days after premier Wen Jiabao called for better treatment of workers.

Coming just after a series of workers' strikes which shut down Chinese factories supplying parts to automakers Honda and Toyota, the Party warned of a significant change in the country's manufacturing model.

The Party mouthpiece, The People's Daily, in an editorial on the condition of migrant workers, said that demographic and social changes have reduced the number of people arriving from the countryside to work in factories.

Without mentioning the recent industrial strikes, the paper said it was time to narrow the gap between the rich and the poor which was affecting consumer demand.

The Guardian in a report says that for most of the last 30 years, cheap migrant labour has helped China remain competitive and keep prices low in the global market. However, a new generation of workers appears to be less willing to endure the hardships borne by their predecessors.