China's migrant workers contributed 16 percent of China's gross
domestic product (GDP) growth over the past 20 years, according to
a report released by the UNESCO and the Institute of Sociology of
the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
The report, issued recently, showed that migrant workers made
significant contributions in industries of construction, commerce,
catering and urban environment cleaning.
Currently, China has 120 million rural laborers working in
cities and the figure is likely to reach 300 million by 2020. At
least one third of the migrant workers are female with age ranging
from 17 to 25.
Zhan Shaohua, assistant research fellow of the Institute of
Sociology of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the
promulgation of policies concerning migrant workers by the State
Council earlier this year provides a guarantee for all-round
protection of migrant worker's legitimate rights and interests,
including their rights to getting on-time payment, social
insurance, and the right of education for their children in
cities.
"The problem is how to ensure the policies to be earnestly
implemented, which needs government's supervision and migrant
workers' awareness of safeguarding their own rights" said Zhan.
In a bid to help improve migrant worker's living status, the
United Nation's Education, Science and Culture Organization
(UNESCO) and the Institute of Sociology of the Chinese Academy of
Social Sciences jointly launched a research project on protecting
migrant workers' rights and interests from 2002 to 2007.
Eight cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Dalian and
Kunming, have been picked as pilots to study the living status of
migrant workers, especially the status of female workers.
By now, nearly 80,000 female migrant workers all over the
country have benefited from the project.
(Xinhua News Agency June 12, 2006)