Personal files record individual's education and work experience, including high-school and university transcripts, and comments from former employers.

At present, state-owned companies have the right to keep employees' personal records.

Employees in other companies such as overseas-funded firms have to pay authorized human resources agencies 20 yuan (US$2.4) a month per employee to hold their files -- a system a growing number of locals say is out of touch with China's shift to a market economy.

The city now has three centers that are authorized to deal with this special business of keeping files.

"I am paying for those papers that I will not have a glimpse of, but I have to as it is a requirement," said Xue.

As companies can't sign a contract with a new employee without first obtaining their files, anyone who doesn't pay the fee can't change jobs.

They also can't get married under current laws.

"I think it is an obstacle for job-hopping, which is more frequent than before, as some employers will use personal files as a tool preventing you from changing jobs," said a local teacher surnamed Cheng.

When Cheng migrated to the city from neighboring Anhui Province last year, her former employer charged her 10,000 yuan (US$1,200) to transfer her personal files to the city.

Many locals complain about the traditional system, and a growing number are refusing to pay the management fees. About half of the 200,000 local residents whose files are held at one of the three authorized centers have put off paying the fee, according to industry insiders.

"We can do nothing about the problem but wait for them to pay the fee some day," said Ye Xiaofeng with the Shanghai Human Resources Service Center.

While the files are still needed to change jobs and tie the knot, their importance is declining.

As of last year, they are no longer needed to apply for a passport.

(Eastday.com February 17, 2003)