Sweatshops in China
Country: China |Â Partner: AMRC and LAC
Aims
- To empower Chinese women migrant workers to defend and claim their rights
- To train women migrant workers on labour rights and to promote the sharing of experiences between workers across China
- To strengthen 15 Chinese migrant worker organisations by supporting joint advocacy work to increase pressure on the government to improve labour standards
- To support five migrant worker organisations in rural areas. These organisations provide workers' rights training to migrants from rural areas, preparing them for the problems they will face upon arrival in China's cities. They also support, through rehabilitation and a local support network, those migrant workers who return to the countryside with occupational diseases
- To conduct research on the conditions faced by migrant workers in China and neighbouring countries
Achievements
- 15 Chinese migrant worker organisations have been bought together to discuss ways to tackle issues affecting migrant workers. This collaborative approach has strengthened their campaign for improved labour protection.
- In October 2008 migrant worker organisations met for the first time with government officials in Beijing to discuss Chinese labour laws, which are weak yet rarely enforced. Migrant workers suffering from occupational disease were able to speak directly to government representatives about labour rights abuses. Migrant worker organisations made a call for improvements to occupational health and safety regulations.
- Training and education programmes have equipped migrant workers, especially women, with the knowledge to defend their rights. Last year 14 migrant worker organisations and 186 participants were trained on labour law and on methods to campaign for improved health and safety protection. These workshops also offered practical guidance on how to respond to the negative impacts of the global financial crisis.
- AMRC and LAC participated in the drawing up of the 2008 Labour Contract Law guaranteeing workers a written contract of employment. Both organisations are currently involved in consultations around a draft Social Security Law, which would entitle all Chinese to social benefits no matter where they live or work.
- Through the rural-urban programme, rehabilitation support has been provided to more than 150 victims of occupational disease who have moved back to the countryside. This programme also encourages returning migrant workers to share their experiences and knowledge of labour rights with others in their community planning to move to the city.
The facts
- In 2007, migrant workers constituted 46.5% of China's urban workforce.
- Migrants working in the city earn on average 30% less than members of the local workforce.
- Of the 11,000 mining and construction workers who died in 2005, roughly 75% were migrants.
- Often hired without a written contract, migrants work twice as long as local-based labourers.
- Fewer than one in 10 migrant workers receive a pension or health insurance, compared to the national average of 70%.
With a 9% annual growth rate in GDP over the last decade, China has the world's fastest growing economy. Despite its rapid growth, more than 482 million people - 36% of the population - still live on less than $2 a day, many of them in rural areas. To escape extreme poverty, many Chinese migrants from the countryside have moved to industrial cities, such as Guangdong in the south of China, which offer the promise of better paying jobs. Today there are approximately 136 million migrant workers in China.
Despite the removal of barriers to working in the city, rural migrant workers arriving in industrial areas often find themselves trapped in abysmal working and living conditions. On average migrants work 12 hours a day, 26 days a month. They earn the equivalent of just £85 per month, less than half the salary of a local worker. Living conditions are poor with up to six people sharing small cramp dormitories. The majority of workers do not have written contracts and job insecurity is exacerbated by the government's failure to enforce national labour standards. Women migrant workers, who are primarily employed in factories, rarely get maternity leave, and with no childcare facilities and working weeks of more than 70 hours many are forced to send their children to live with family in the countryside.
Factory conditions are dangerous, and basic health and safety protections are rarely provided to workers. According to the United Nations, more than 200 million Chinese workers risk serious damage to their health from occupational disease. Since they often carry out the most dangerous jobs, migrant workers are particularly susceptible to occupational diseases and work-related accidents. At the end of 2005, China officially recorded 665,043 cases of disease or illness caused by workplace conditions - although the real figure is believed to be far higher. Illnesses such as silicosis, an incurable lung disease contracted by inhaling silica dust released when rock or stone is cut or drilled, are becoming more commonplace. Many thousands of workers die every year as a result of contracting silicosis at work. Corporations are able to avoid accountability for occupational diseases like silicosis by exploiting legal loopholes. Moreover, the official state trade union has failed to take action on behalf of workers who fall ill and corporations are rarely compelled to pay sickness compensation.
To help promote workers' rights in China, War on Want works in collaboration with two grassroots partners, the Asia Monitor Resource Centre (AMRC) and Labour Action China (LAC). Established in 1976, the AMRC is a non-governmental organisation that supports democratic and independent labour movements in Asia. The Centre seeks to promote the rights of factory workers, particularly women workers, by empowering them to directly challenge labour abuses they face on a daily basis.
The LAC was founded in 2005 to support labour activism and worker organisations in southern China. It offers a range of programmes and activities to strengthen local NGOs, including awareness raising for Chinese workers on labour relations; training for grassroots campaigners; and conferences and workshops that bring together migrant workers organisations in China and beyond. The LAC also produces original research on factory conditions in China.
Together the AMRC and LAC support more than 15 migrant worker organisations in mainland China. War on Want is proud to support their work to improve the livelihoods of migrant workers, focussing on women, and those affected by occupational disease.
War on Want gratefully acknowledges funding for this programme from the Civil Society Fund of Irish Aid, the Government of Ireland’s programme of assistance to developing countries.
