Migrant Workers Deal with "Second-Class Citizens" Status Video

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China Labour Bulletin is based in Hong Kong. It is a non-government research organization. It recently reported of a workers' movement in China. There are over 20 million migrant workers in China. They generally lack health insurance and a retirement plan; in the city, they hope to get fair treatment, from both the employer and the factory. According to the report, Unity is Strength, when protection of interest is absent, the young workers or the activist workers use the internet and mobile phones to organize, strike, and protest. The following is our report.

On Tuesday, "China Labour Bulletin" in Hong Kong released a report. Nearly half of Chinese workers are of the new generation. They don't want to be like their parents, returning to their poor hometown; they want a new life in the city. That is a dream requires enough money, and they hope to get fair wages from both the employer and the factory.


Geoffrey Crothall, spokesman of "China Labour Bulletin," indicated that China's labor dispute arbitration committee accepted cases involving more than one million workers. The majority of them did not receive wages or compensation. Workers don't share stable protection in rights or interests, because they aren't protected by local government.


"China Labour Bulletin" spokesman Geoffrey Crothall: "0144-0235 I should still emphasize that the workers' demands are not too high, and not too much. They are (asking) for the basic human rights. But in the present circumstances, they still don't receive a reasonable wage. Of course they need to increase their income. "


Agence France-Presse (AFP) said China's migrant workers are called "second-class citizens." Although they have lived in the city, some were even born and raised in the city, because their origins of residence remain the same as their parents, they barely share any social security.


Shanghai workers, Mr. Tian Fucheng:0003-0021, "During a time of inflation, to live on 500 dollars (monthly), quite frankly, it is hard to even afford three meals a day; for instance, if we were in poor health, the life is really very sad, very hard to survive."


In August, Beijing demolished the school for children of migrant workers. More than 30,000 migrant workers' children face schooling difficulties.


Geoffrey Crothall: " Some schools for the migrant workers' children are removed, the children can not help but go back to their parents' hometown, or simply can not find a school, so, according to this case, it is really difficult to stay in the city. You can understand that some migrant workers, take the young ones as examples, are not satisfied with (government), once they are angry, for sure they will protest."


China Labour Bulletin report indicated that the new generation is more confident. When they can't improve their treatment, tens of millions of these young Chinese adept at using the internet and mobile phones go on strike to raise wages.


"Chinese Social Democratic Party" Central Committee moderator Liu Yinchuan believes that migrant workers are also taxpayers, it is not fair for their children not to be allowed to go to school in the city, or be permitted to go to school but required to pay high tuition, because they are charged with extra fees for not being a registered local resident, and so on.


"Chinese Social Democratic Party" Central Committee Moderator Liu Yinchuan: "In my opinion, China's household registration system, from a historical point of view, is the most cruel and unjust system, but they (migrant workers) don't have any protection in the city, no human rights, and no legal protection. They are second-class citizens in the city, or even third-class citizens; their status is worse than any ordinary worker in the city."


Liu Yinchuan indicated that if China does not change this system, migrant workers will raise their voice when it's intolerable, the volcano will erupt.


NTD reporters Tang Rui and Wang Mingyu.

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