A REPORT by China’s only official trade union federation says young rural migrant workers expect improved incomes and rights as they fight for recognition in urban society, but it says their demands are also a test of stability.
The report by the All-China Federation of Trade Unions does not mention the recent strikes by migrant workers demanding higher wages, nor does it mention other byproducts of industrial unrest, such as the suicide crisis at Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn.
However, it does give an insight into what official thinking is on the whole area of industrial unrest, something been lacking until now – the leadership in China has not commented on the strikes beyond a few lines here and there.
The study shows that the rising demands of a new generation of workers migrating from Chinese villages are being considered by the powers that be in the ruling Communist Party.
"The accumulation of these demands and problems has begun to have negative effects on our country's political and social stability and sustainable economic development," ran the report, issued on the union website. It also appeared in the Workers' Daily.
“This is making concerted resolution of the problems of this new generation of rural migrant workers an urgent issue that concerns the broader outlook of national development.”
Strikes are spreading like weeds through foreign-owned factories in China’s industrial areas as workers call for higher pay and the supply of low-cost labour starts to fall. Worker unrest has forced Japanese carmakers and other foreign manufacturers, including Foxconn, to spend more on wages.
The study was released on the same day as a strike halted production at a Chinese factory owned by Japan’s Denso Corp, a car parts maker affiliated with Toyota. Supply of its fuel injection equipment and other products to Toyota, Honda and other carmaker clients has been halted since Monday.
For decades, the country’s army of 150 million migrant workers, more than 10 per cent of the total Chinese population, have formed the backbone of China’s economic strength. Nearly two-thirds of these workers are aged from 16 to 30, according to the report.
The young migrant workers are part of the “post-80s generation”, a group which has much higher expectation than their parents’ generation. They are happy to complain when they feel rights are being violated and they are also less fearful of retaliation.
However, they lack representation other than from the country’s official trade unions, which are directly controlled by the Communist Party through the federation.