Better ways to protect migrant workers By Zhi Ming (China Daily) Updated: 2004-11-13 09:07
It is time for farmers working in cities to settle with their employers.
In Guangzhou, of South China's Guangdong Province, 25 farmers-turned workers
were attacked last Tuesday when they asked for their pay.
Reports are common about migrant workers who are not paid and have to return
home penniless. Attacks on workers, however, are much less common.
Urgent and effective measures are needed to safeguard the rights of workers.
But how?
Past experience shows we tend to tackle the problem by exerting
administrative pressure.
It is a widely-accepted format that officials from the top urge lower-level
officials and departments to take immediate steps to ensure farmers get their
pay.
Often, it works.
Premier Wen Jiabao has repeatedly made headlines by issuing such orders. In
the current Guangzhou case, he said attention must still be paid to solve the
problem of defaulted payment to migrant workers.
We are glad we have a premier who cares for the interests of this
disadvantaged social group. Wen's orders were seriously implemented in previous
cases.
This time, the Guangzhou workers will predictably see a satisfactory result.
But we should not - and cannot - count on Premier Wen to solve all the
problems.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and the National Bureau of
Statistics, China has 100 million migrant workers.
Defaulted payments could amount to 100 billion yuan (US$12 billion), says the
All-China Federation of Trade Unions.
Wen cannot get involved in every case.
The legal, especially judicial, system, must play a bigger role. It must be
more effective.
Eight years ago, for example, in Guangdong's Shaoguan, construction
contractors defaulted on more than 10 million yuan (US$1.2 million) payments to
more than 600 migrant workers in a local road project. Local courts received
more than 50 appeals.
By 2003, however, those workers had yet to see a single yuan.
Since last year, the country, led by the central government, has launched
nationwide campaigns to settle the issue.
In the long run, however, the force of law must be brought to bear on the
thorny issue.
It is said the construction law will be amended to impose harsher punishment
on employers that default on payments.
We look forward to those amendments and hope they are done soon to better
safeguard the interests of the workers.
