Migrant Labour in China: A Case Study of Labour Discontent, Unrest and Protests
Labour unrest has been the major source of political and social instability in China since the 1990s. China has been known as the global epicentre of labour unrest. Migrants are vulnerable to exclusion and social dilemmas. Here in China, migrants are only seeking the quality of employment, their soc...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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National Sun Yat-sen University
2020-05-01
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| Series: | Contemporary Chinese Political Economy and Strategic Relations: An International Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://icaps.nsysu.edu.tw/var/file/131/1131/img/CCPS6(1)-Sumesh.pdf |
| Summary: | Labour unrest has been the major source of political and social instability in China since the 1990s. China has been known as the global epicentre of labour unrest. Migrants are vulnerable to exclusion and social dilemmas. Here in China, migrants are only seeking the quality of employment, their socio-economic rights as well as well-being. They are treated as second-class or secondary citizens in the urban spaces, and they have to face discrimination at work place and humiliation by local urban residents. Reduced monthly wages coexist with the violation of the labour rights even when they sign a labour contract. The migrant workers are increasingly fighting against labour unrest by using different means such as legal channels, strikes, protests, violence and so on. They are willing to bargain collectively and so the rate of protests has increased rapidly in the recent years. The rising political awareness among the migrant workers led migrants to organise themselves to fight against discrimination. The maximum number of protests is visible in the manufacturing sectors, especially in China’s southern province of Guangdong. |
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| ISSN: | 2410-9681 2410-9681 |