Employment and Wages There are an estimated 274 million rural migrant workers in China, making 36% of total working population and is divided into two categories i) short distance; and ii) long-distance.[footnoteRef:1] Short-distance migrant workers live near to their dwelling regions. The majority of rural migrant workers are employed in low-paid jobs in manufacturing, construction and services. In addition to low wages, migrant workers do not have a job security and work long hours. Long distance migrants work on average 25.3 days and 8.8 hours a day. In addition, even with the implementation of ?Labor Contract Law?, in 2014, only 38% of long-distance migrant workers had signed a formal employment contract with their employers and for short-distance migrant workers the number was even lower at 33%.[footnoteRef:2] This clearly portrays that the ?Labor laws? are in place, but they are not applied rigidly. [1: http://www.clb.org.hk/en/content/migrant-workers-and-their-children ] [2: Ibid] Social Security and Healthcare The trouble is not just restricted to low wages or exceeding working hours, number of migrant workers, enjoying any form of pension or social security remain low as compared to the national norm. The annual study of migrant workers in 2014 found that just 16.4% of long-distance migrant workers received a pension program and 18.2% had medical insurances. Education Although the ?Compulsory Education Law? states that all children are entitled to schooling
Together with the low family income and the price of public education, which is about $150 dollars a month, without meals, schooling is out of the question for a large majority of people. (How much do schools cost in China?) Families are not in the financial situation to set school as a priority. Therefore, many children are recruited to assist the family in paying for needs. Americans see child labor as a barbaric act because we have been spoiled with a great system designed with public education being paid for by our taxes. While Chinese citizens do not get that privilege. Many sweatshops allow, against Chinese law, children to work as if they were an adult. Which means children can work very long shifts and often over time. If schooling is not a financially feasible option for a family. What is a child to do? While their family struggles to provide basic needs. The only reasonable option presented to them at the time is to work. While Americans, who do not realize their options are limited, and protest these children working to
The life of a migrant worker in the 1930s were very depressing one. The Great Depression cause many workers to move from place to place for jobs. Most of these migrant workers are alone with no friends or family and unable to trust people. Some Just like George and Lennie from the book Of Mice Of Men travel together. Of Mice and Men is a story about two men the The Great Depression
Together with the low family income and the price of public education, which is about 150 dollars a month without meals, schooling is out of the question for a majority of people. (How much do schools cost in China?) Families are not in the financial situation to set school as a priority. Therefore, many children are recruited to assist the family in paying for needs. Americans see child labor as a barbaric act because we have been spoiled with a great system designed with public education being paid for by our taxes. Many sweatshops allow, against Chinese law, children to work as if they were an adult. Meaning children can work long shifts and often over time. If schooling is not a financially feasible option for a family, what is a child to do? Since their family is struggling to provide basic needs the only reasonable option presented to them is to work. While Americans, who do not realize their options are limited, protest these children working to support their families.
A common biased opinion on immigration is that immigrants coming to the United States are taking American jobs. According to the Immigration Policy Center, “research indicates there is little connection between immigrant labor and unemployment rates of native-born workers.” The jobs that immigrants are taking are the low-budget jobs that Americans do not want. They not only get less pay, but also less benefits in comparison to American workers. In fact, according to Forbes, “illegal immigrants actually raise wages for documented/native workers.” America is considered to be more productive when we have more trading partners, Undocumented workers with limited English skills allows more American workers
Cundal and Seaman discuss the many ways in which the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) is abused and the effects of this misuse on the workers. Temporary Foreign Workers (TFW) are working jobs that should be classified as long term positions, not short term. This incorrect classification affects a worker’s salary, healthcare plan, pension, vacation pay, and sick days. Cundal and Seaman also address the ways in which TFW are more susceptible to employer abuse than other workers. Temporary Foreign Workers must apply for a Labour Market Opinion (LMO) before switching employers, which can take up to five months; most workers cannot afford to live without a source of income for this length of time. This usually compels workers to keep serious issues private. Many workers are also uninformed about their basic rights, which often leaves them exposed to mistreatment or abuse by employers. Cundal, an immigration lawyer in Calgary and Seaman, a human rights and civil liberties researcher wrote an unbiased and fact based article using a wide variety of sources including articles, reports, and newsletters. Cundal and Seaman provided an extensive reference list in addition to footnotes to support their writing. The authors not only address the human rights issues faced by TFW’s, they also identify ways in which these issues can be resolved. Cundal and Seaman however, fail to provide information on how many TFW are affected by employer abuse and exploitation. This information is
The Mexican Migrant Farm Workers’ community formed in Southern California in the 20th century because of two factors that came together: farming emphasized by migrations like the Okie farmers from the East and Mexicans “imported” to the U.S. because of the need for cheap labor as a replacement of Americans during World War II. The migrant labor group formed after an already similar group in the U.S had been established in California, the American farm workers from the East, known as the Okies. The Dust Bowl of the 1930s caused the movement of the Okies to the West and was followed by the transition from American dominant farm labor to Mexican migrant labor. The Okies reinforced farming in California through the skills they took with them,
Employment of illegal immigrants in the United States, as well as other countries has been a highly controversial subject for many years now. There are many people living in various countries around the world that are unhappy with the way they are living, and want something more out of life than what their country can offer. Due to their unhappiness, they decide to immigrate to another country, and this is usually done illegally. Once they are in their preferred country, which a lot of the time is the United States, they are forced to work in low skilled jobs because higher skilled jobs require people to speak fluent English and show proof of residency. Although many people view illegal migrants as a
One of the hallmarks of china’s socialist economy made a statement promise of employment to all and job-security with virtually lifelong tenure.They were overstaffed to fulfilling socialist goals and job-security lower the workers ‘motivation to work.This socialist policy was called the iron rice bowl.China’s employed labor force is rarely over 800
This essay will provide an overview of immigrant farm workers as an example of a vulnerable population in society. A sample population demographic and background information about the community provides characteristics and context about why this group constitutes a vulnerable population. A discussion about the challenges and disparities farm workers incur when accessing health care with an assessment of the impact on federal, state, and local health care delivery systems. Key stakeholders in public and private domains are noted outlining
The Joads arrive in California and are disappointed when they realize that there aren’t as many opportunities as they had hoped for. Floyd goes on to explain just why that is. Since many of the migrant workers are disorganized and don’t put any emphasis on improving their pay, they allow owners to continue to take advantage of them leaving them powerless. By fighting with each other they naturally weed out a few workers to the owner’s benefit. The competition between the workers permits owners to worsen working conditions and provide lower wages. At this point, the best thing for the workers to do is ban together and
Many argue that immigrants are taking jobs away are lowering the minimum wage for United States citizens. However, there are no specific and reliable evidence to support the claim that immigrants are causing more harm than they do benefit the country. Yet, there has been evidence that America was constructed by immigrants seeking a better life in which they were equally granted liberty. They were firm believers of what we call today, The American dream, and believe that working hard to support your descendants and creating opportunities for them to blossom is vital. Immigrants came to Ellis Island knowing that hard work pays off, and is eventually rewarded with success. For America one of the best economic countries, the question arises of,
Presently, foreigners gain massively from the resource of migrant workers in China. The locals that can benefit from their presence benefit very, very little, that is, if a small amount of money for their work is seen as a benefit. The Chinese employees' work is valuable to the company, for their
China is one of our biggest labor competitors. The reason many US companies go to China for outsourcing is again, because of their workforce’s willingness to operate at low costs. Michael Zimmerman describes this as a disparity in worker “tolerance”. Where the low wages found in China are “far lower than U.S.
Although this sometimes isn’t the factories fault because most of the workers are uninsured so they are denied medical and social services (“China: Beijing’s Migrant 1”). Most of the factories do try to pay their workers by hour at about twenty cents per hour, but some only pay them once a year (Goldman 1). This however is breaking the rule of Labor Law fifty in China, which states that workers must be paid on a monthly basis. The average wage per month is only about sixty-five dollars which isn’t a sufficient amount of money to support an average family (“China: Beijing’s Migrant 1”). These people try to work overtime to earn more money, but often times they are forced to do this regardless (Goldman 2). Chinese workers often work in fear, because they have to ask permission to leave even after their shifts are done and to even go to the bathroom (Goldman 1). The Chinese workforce is starting to realize these problems and they won’t stand for it.
Labor relations in China have become more and more complex, labor conflicts have occurred frequently, and thus labor disputes have been growing with a rate much faster than that of the development of GDP in the past decade. They could become a potential obstacle to the economic development if not appropriately managed. The paper studies the condition of labor relations, and probes the profound reasons for it, and compares it across the world in order to give a description for it.