China began to open up and turn in the direction of a market economy in 1978. Since then, the dismantling of agricultural communes and of the whole prevailing system have driven rural residents to seek other work.
According to official statistics, 95 million Chinese are migrant workers, who have left the countryside to look for work in the cities.
This low-paid and poorly-treated section of the population is the engine of China’s economic growth. Migrant workers account for about 70% of China’s industrial production and about 80% of its construction workers.
Average wages for factory workers are about 30 - 40 cents an hour.
China’s ruling Communist Party does not allow the formation of trade unions.
More recently the Chinese government has begun to pay more attention to the plight of migrant workers. The first meeting of Chinese officials and the International Labour Organisation was held in Beijing in late April.
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 1.5.2004
