A study of the impacts on the migrant workers in the Pearl River Delta, China, under the financial tsunami

Abstract

The recent financial tsunami has caused thousands of factories in China to collapse, and tens of millions of migrant workers to lose their jobs. It is estimated that at least 10% of the rural migrant workers are unemployed since the Chinese New Year holidays this year. Many still stay in urban areas aiming for job opportunities, though the chances are slim. The impacts on their livelihoods and employment conditions gradually become serious social issues in China today. The authors had conducted a field trip to Pearl River Delta Area of Guangdong Province in March 2009 to study about these impacts. Through our visits to the social service agencies, the rural migrant workers, and academics researching on this topic, we understand more deeply about the impacts of the financial tsunami on migrant workers, and the responses of social service agencies providing services to them. In this paper, we will make use of the primary data we obtained from the field trip and also second data to study three main themes of the topic: 1) the impacts of the deteriorating economy on injury compensations for the migrant workers; 2) the issue of underpayment and violation of labor contract law; and 3) changes in the education opportunities for the workers' children in the host cities.