Chinese migrant workers’ working conditions and social attitudes during the current financial crisis

LI Peilin 1 and LI Wei 2

1Institute of Sociology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
2Associate Professor, Institute of Sociology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

Abstract:

For the past 30 years, migrant workers have become a major force supporting the sustained and rapid growth of China’s economy. Based on the data of two large-scale surveys carried out in 2006 and 2008, this paper analyzes migrant workers’ economic situations and attitudes, especially amid the global financial crisis. Data from 2006 show that despite low income and high work intensity, migrant workers maintained relatively positive attitudes. In contrast, the 2008 data revealed some changes over the two years: Despite higher incomes and better social security, migrant workers had lower expectations on social security, fairness, satisfaction and the future as a result of increasing pressure of employment and living. Such an inconsistency requires further study and emphasis. Although China has entered a new phase of restructuring its development model and upgrading the industrial structure, in terms of comparative advantage, migrant workers will still be a major driving force of maintaining rapid economic growth in the next 30 years. For this reason, the authors propose policy suggestions like substantially raising migrant workers’ educational levels, paying more attention to their employment and improving the social security system.

Key words:

Migrant workers, economic situation, social attitudes, financial crisis

¥0.01加入购物车