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Employment And Wages Of Migrant Workers

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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

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