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A massive migration of workers

By Zhang Ran (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-10-06 13:56

The improvement

In the past 30 years, one city after another has expanded on the mainland, the growth of these cities has greatly outstripped the wages paid to migrant workers. For years, migrant workers have had to work in harsh environments, living in cities like strangers or refugees without insurance, pensions, education or homes in which to settle down. As the country tries to bridge China's widening income gap, fair compensation for migrant workers is an issue at the top of the government agenda.

In January, three migrant laborers, Zhu Xueqin from Shanghai, Hu Xiaoyan from Guangdong and Kang Houming from Chongqing were elected as NPC deputies. This marks the first time that the migrant workers could sit down with the nation's decision makers as equals.

A healthy working environment, medical insurance, old-age pensions and low-rent housing are the problems migrant workers care most about, says Zhu, a native of Jiangsu province.

"The fact that I am elected to the NPC speaks for itself," Zhu says. "Thirty years after China launched its reform and opening-up drive, the role played by migrant workers and the contribution they have made are finally being given due recognition."

The Labor Contract Law, effective since January, makes it compulsory for companies to sign open-ended contracts with workers with more than two years' service and to provide insurance and overtime pay.

In 2007, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of China announced it would expand the coverage of the Housing Accumulation Fund to migrant workers, which means they can also be funded to buy apartments in cities.

"I want to settle down in Guangzhou. Here, you can learn so many things," Zhen says.

Six months ago, Zhen brought his girlfriend to the same factory. The couple now live in a one-bedroom apartment rented from the employer. The two, who plan to buy an apartment in the city, are waiting for more preferential housing policies to come out for migrant workers.

Another issue is education. Steps will be taken to ensure children of migrant workers in cities enjoy the same access to compulsory education as others.

Dai Shihua, a 37-year-old female worker, is in charge of a whole plant in Neoglory Jewelry Co Ltd, a leading jewelry producer based in Yiwu city in Zhejiang province.

Six years ago, Dai left her husband and little girl who lived in a poor village in Hubei province and came to Zhejiang alone. She started as a low-level worker and earned 1,000 yuan a month at first. Now Dai is managing dozens of people in a whole plant, and earning 3,000 yuan a month.

In the past, rural laborers had to pay an extra "sponsor fee" in order to let their children go to local schools. This accounted for one third of the total fees they paid for their children's education. Because of that, Dai had to leave her daughter and husband, though she has made a successful career.

In 2008, the Zhejiang provincial government canceled the sponsor fee and Dai brought her whole family to Zhejiang soon after that, where her husband found a job in the same factory and her daughter can receive a better education. The family is living in a two-bedroom company apartment.

"The life is much better here," Dai says. She now wants to settle down in the town permanently.

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