Each section of the Resource Centre provides an analytical and statistical overview of these issues as well as outlining their historical and economic context. The Resource Centre includes a wide range of regularly updated comparative statistics, which can be accessed directly by clicking on the statistics button on the right. The statistics are in PDF format, which requires an Adobe PDF Reader, downloadable from www.adobe.com.
- Migrant workers in ChinaMigrant workers emerged in China in the 1980s as a by-product of two seemingly opposite policies; the household registration system established in the late 1950s to control internal migration, and the economic reforms initiated in the late 1970s to liberalize and boost the economy.
- Children of migrant workersThere are 110 million migrant workers in China aged between 16 and 40 years old. They left home in the hope of building a better life for themselves and their family, yet when they start a family of their own, they are faced with a stark choice; either take their children to the cities and subject them to institutionalized discrimination, or leave them behind in the countryside in the uncertain care of relatives.
- Reform of state-owned enterprisesOne of the most fundamental changes to the Chinese economy over the last few decades has been the reform of the state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Initiated in 1978, SOE reforms enhanced the economic performance of state enterprises but gave rise to numerous social problems, such as unemployment, labour disputes and social unrest.
- UnemploymentBefore the economic reforms, unemployment officially did not exist in China. Since the early 1980s, however, unemployment has become one of the most pressing issues facing the government in Beijing. In 2006, although the official unemployment rate remained below five percent, unofficial estimates put it has high as 20 percent.
- WagesWage levels as well as the discrepancies between different industrial sectors, types of ownership and regions have increased significantly since the introduction of China’s economic reforms. In 1994 China introduced the minimum wage but very often the minimum wage is insufficient to support workers basic needs, and many workers are paid less than the minimum wage. The non-payment or delayed payment of wages is serious problem, and the number of disputes over wages has increased dramatically.
- CompensationThe Chinese government has determined ten grades of work-related disability, which are the basis of compensation awards made by the courts and arbitration committees. Grades one to four are the most serious and indicate that the employee no longer has any ability to work; grades 5 and 6 signify that an employee has lost most of their ability to work, while workers with grade 7 to 10 injuries are classified as partially disabled.
