We'll talk about migrant labor fueling the Chinese economy--rural peasants flocking to the city for better paying jobs.

I believe that this is a subject most city dwellers (not arrivals from the countryside) will agree on - city life is worse because of all the farmers moving to town. I've heard that influx from the countryside is responsible for everything from increased crime to high rents.

But the fact is they do the jobs that city dwellers do not want to do - construction, repair work, recycling, driving taxis, etc.

It’s worth mentioning the Chinese government’s treatment of migrant construction workers.

Frequently, the terms of employment include deferred compensation. The government will get a full year’s labor from these workers, then fire them with no pay whatsoever.

It should go without saying there is no recourse against the Chinese government.

Of course, it keeps the prices low at Wal-Mart, doesn’t it?


"Dollar to the Giant" on YouTube:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUj8leZxmK8


Chinese "opportunity" in action.

I wouldn't say it is a government policy to treat migrants badly - but they certainly do not go out of their way to afford them additional protection. Migrant workers have an extremely difficult existence - the details of which could keep us busy typing for a long time.

When you mentioned terms of employment, there probably are often no terms, as there is often no employment contract, which is required by law, and therefore no protection.

As Ted Koppel mentioned, despite these difficulties, many in the countryside still dream of construction or factory jobs in the city.

I have heard stories of more workers organizing (the recent near-strike by China Eastern Airlines is an example) and wonder if it is a trend or a flash in the pan.

Here's an April 2008 article from Reuters on the work stoppage.

SHANGHAI, April 7 (Reuters) - China Eastern Airlines (600115.SS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Monday it has grounded pilots who flew domestic flights back to their departure airports last week in what local media said was a strike over pay and work conditions.

Organised labour strikes are unusual in China, where there is only one legal, government-backed union.

China Eastern, acknowledging for the first time that bad weather was not entirely to blame for the return of 21 flights operated by a subsidiary to their departure airports in southern Yunnan province, said it would take strict measures in response to the incident once an investigation was complete.

"There are some flights that, rather than returning for weather-related reasons as the crew indicated at the time, clearly had a human element involved," the statement said, referring to disrupted flights on March 31 and April 1.

"China Eastern's Yunnan subsidiary has already temporarily grounded those individuals suspected of involvement in the return of flights for contrived reasons," it added.

Two senior executives at the unit were suspended from duty and China Eastern deputy general manager Li Yangmin has been appointed as the unit's new chief, the statement added.

Local media said last week the pilots were upset that they were limited to domestic routes, with shorter flying hours and lower pay than counterparts in the parent company. They were further discouraged to find they would be taxed heavily on overtime pay.

China Eastern representatives could not be reached on Monday but they repeatedly said last week that flights that had taken off from Yunnan's capital, Kunming, and returned did so merely because of poor weather.

Chinese airlines are increasingly facing a shortage of pilots due to booming air travel and the emergence of private airlines, such as budget carrier Spring Airlines, which are offering higher wages to lure pilots from big state-run firms.

Pilots at state carriers often must make sizable payments to their employers if they quit their jobs.

Last month, pilots for Shanghai Airlines (600591.SS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and newly formed Wuhan East Star Airline staged coordinated "sick-ins" in two separate incidents, local media reported.

The mid-air strike by China Eastern pilots drew heavy coverage in the Chinese media, in a sign of concern just four months before the opening of the Beijing Olympics.

China's aviation regulator said in a statement on its Web site over the weekend that it was investigating the return of the China Eastern flights and warned that pilots would be punished severely if their actions were found to be improper. (Reporting by Fang Yan; Editing by Edmund Klamann)