The traditional
Spring Festival, or the Lunar New Year, which falls on Sunday,
is only two days away, and migrant worker Wang Junde from eastern
Shandong Province found himself fascinated in bowling game.
This 24-year-old young man, who came to Taiyuan some 1,000 km
west of his hometown, said it is first time for him to play "the
game of the rich."
Nevertheless, Wang does not pay when going to the municipal
cultural palace to play the game and what he needs to do is to show
his certificate issued by the municipal labor federation.
It is a special arrangement that the federation made for all
these migrant workers who decided to spend away from their home the
traditional Spring Festival in Taiyuan, capital of north China's
Shanxi Province.
Apart from opening the bowling gymnasium, the labor federation
promised to open all its recreation centers to the staying migrant
workers free of charge.
The federation statistics show the city with a population of
3.28millions has more than 200,000 migrant workers, and about 10
percent of them would not return to their homes for festivity.
In the national metropolises of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou,
more migrant workers prefer staying where they are.
In Beijing alone, at least 200,000 migrant workers will greet
the lunar new year in the national capital for the sake of a number
of ongoing Olympic projects and infrastructure construction.
A contractor surnamed Li told Xinhua about three quarters of the
400 migrant workers in his construction brigade will go on working
overtime during the Spring Festival for a project of the 2008
Beijing Olympics.
"The entire project has to be completed by late April, so I
really don't know what to do without their help," said Li.
Statistics and analysis from the Ministry of Labor and Social
Securities said China has more than 130 million migrant workers
today and approximately 60 percent of them would return to their
hometowns for the very special festival.
That is to say, more than 50 million of them will greet the
ushering-in of the Year of Dog in cities, mostly construction
workers, patients keepers, attendants and house nurses.
Economic factor is still the main cause of their stay.
Some migrant workers cited the main cause for their staying
behind as their unwillingness to part with their current jobs.
Besides, some others prefer staying as they are not able to buy
the cheap train tickets during the festival travel peak days while
quite a number of others worry about spending too much money when
going home.
Yet sociologists acknowledged that it is beyond doubt that is a
sad option for most migrant workers to give up their hope of
joining their families on this special occasion, as they always
attach more importance to the traditional festivals than any other
groups in China.
Wang said it would be his third Spring Festival to spend in his
host city.
He said, in the past he and his co-workers spent this unique
holiday season by playing cards or simply sleeping, "but this year
it turns out to be interesting and I am not as homesick as in the
past."
Also in the city, the Taiyuan Iron and Steel Group bought 30 TV
sets for migrant workers so that they will enjoy vivid, colorful
programs during the imminent festival.
A worker from central Henan Province said "though it still
cannot make me as happy as at my own home, after all, there is some
festivity of the new year."
Though the situation varies from city to city, the rural migrant
workers, as a newly-emerged social group, still cannot get rid of
the plight of being biased in payment and employment.
It is still hard for those migrant workers to get involved in
the urban life, and they have embarrassedly become the margin group
of China's cities.
The Chinese government issued a document on resolving the
problems for the migrant workers a week ago.
Echoing with the document, China's labor federations at all
levels, which mainly provide services to urban employees, have
begun paying more heed to the rural workers at the epilogue of the
Rooster Year.
The Beijing municipal labor union organizations made the
commitment early this month, saying they will not only help migrant
workers buy the return tickets both from Beijing and their
hometown, but also send delicious dumplings to those who welcome
their Spring Festival in the national capital.
Yuan quangao, director of the Taiyuan municipal labor
federation, said that the migrant workers are the most hardworking
group in cities, but unfortunately some of them could not manage to
go home after one year's swink.
"As an organization working for the welfare of all laborers, the
federation has unshirkable responsibilities to bring a happy
festival to the rural workers staying behind," the official
said.
He said the federation started to accept migrant workers since
last October and so far over 70 percent of the city's migrant
workers have been affiliated into the organization.
(Xinhua News Agency January 27, 2006)