As with most large cities around the world, the sites, feelings, and smells associated with a destination are not just the result of the hard work of a city’s natural born residents. Immigrants, expatriates, nomads, drifters, travelers, all manage to contribute to a city’s character and reputation.
China’s large cities are no exception to the rule. In Nanjing, the woman who sells popular drinks by the subway is simultaneously distressed and beautiful; her “Ni Haos” are barely audible. The Muslim rough riders of Xinjiang with their expensive and large wagons of granola and dried fruit in a tough honey colored, solid form, stick out amongst the modernity of the booming second-tier city.
Despite growing levels of modernization and education, migrant workers still make up the backbone of China’s metropolises. It is rare that one makes the time (and manages to navigate those strong accents) to find out what goes on in the mind of a young migrant worker. Thus, in the new year of the sheep, and with an ever-thriving labour population, we should really start asking ourselves; who are these new generations beyond the hukou and beyond the politics? What power do they have and what is their future? How do they differ from generations of migrant workers past?
Who are they & where are they going?
Work-related migration began as early as the 1980s when Deng Xiaoping forever changed the course of the Chinese economy thus creating more opportunities for international and domestic development. Ever increasing international investment demanded an equally large labour force to keep up and support the growth. Despite spending days in trains that seemed to last forever, millions were lured by the possibility of opportunity and betterment to become part of the growing urbanization of China.
Now in the 2010s the “new generation” migrants are becoming the bulwark of Chinese labour; and according to the National Bureau of Statistics, almost one-half of the migrant workforce is made up of these young workers. 44.4 percent are employed in the manufacturing industry, soaring above their parents’ rate of 31.5 percent. Construction has ceased to be the major draw for this generation at only 9.8 percent compared to 27.8 percent of the past. Of these 125 million young migrants born after 1980 or “balinghou” (八零后), one-third have a high school education or higher which is 19.2 percentage points higher than that of their parents.
However, new generation migrant workers are lacking experience in both the agricultural sector so characteristic of their hometowns as well as the modern industrial sector of their newly found urban homes. The average age of these workers has also changed in recent years. Those migrant workers of the 1980s were often 21 years old by the time they had made it to the big city; however those born after 1990 or the “jiulinghou” (九零后) are traveling at the tender age of 17 to make their big break.
Migrating after limited schooling and at such a young age results in a work force that faces high levels of pressure from work, low wages, an unstable identity (villager vs. urbanite) and an overall lack of personal satisfaction. Yet, despite these pending dangers and obstacles, the post-90s generation is maturing in a growing economy, and as a result is far more attentive to their appearance, taste and pop culture in general. Despite their lives lacking in bling and luxury, these 12-13 hour-a-day labourers are highly knowledgeable about the latest fashion trends. Unlike their parents, who strove to make enough money to return to the farm content and happy, these young migrants are looking to conquer the city and make it their permanent home. Growing produce and tending the livestock are the least of their worries or desires during an age where the smart phone rules supreme. Their hopes to conquer the urban jungle may also stem from their higher likelihood of changing jobs and remaining in the city, even though they lack the permits that would grant them the full rights of natural born urban citizens and employees.
Although the number of non-urban migrants has grown an annual percentage of 3.6 points, outpacing the 1.7 percent of urban-bound labour, many of the new generation of migrant workers prefer a life of possible luxury and opportunity in China’s expanding cities. Thus, while growth is slowly edging its way to their home provinces, the city continues to entice waves of youth with its glimmering lights and seemingly abundance of opportunity.
Aspirations and Goals
Unlike their parents and older migrant workers before them, the new generation tends to have more individualistic goals and loftier expectations, presenting different trends in their migration patterns, especially in relation to their motivations for moving, choice of jobs, degree of urban integration and the number of times they return and leave home. This constantly growing sector of the population with their habits and aspirations will serve as determinants for the future development of China’s economy. They are not only better educated than migrant workers of previous generations, they tend to spend more and save less, soaking up the glories of big city life. The new generation tends to spend 20 percent more of their income than their predecessors born in the 80s. This kind of spending is good news for the central government that is hoping to drive their economy that is centered more on the consumption of goods by the general public. By default, they are less likely to send saved money back home to the family; an average of ¥12,802 goes back to their rural homes, 30 percent less compared to older workers.
Modern migrant workers are also finding various reasons to leave their homes other than the traditional search for opportunity. Lacking interest in schools was one of the main reasons cited by young migrants for heading towards thriving coastal cities. Many are not even completing the compulsory nine years of education. Another motivation for leaving the comforts of home for working opportunities so early in life is the unwillingness to pay for further schooling during a time when job opportunities appear more fruitful and plentiful than ever before. Unfortunately, unlike many countries throughout the world, China’s economy and educational structure do not encourage continuing one’s education later in life after acquiring employment experience. Thus, many migrants must make a decision between education and work earlier than most. In addition, unlike past generations, many labourers of today expressed their desire to migrate for merely the fun of it or in order to explore the wider world. Many appeared to be bored with village life and desired to be free of their parents’ and community’s expectations, in terms of their occupation and/or future spouse.
On average, new generation migrant workers earn ¥1,479 per month, which is approximately half of the average urban salary (in Nanjing). However, many of them have higher expectations in terms of personal development. Young workers are in pursuit of a decent salary, yet a stable salary alone will not secure satisfaction and loyalty. The need to learn better employment skills and a desire for their own businesses are on the minds of the majority. Thus, to them, migrant employment remains a temporary state of being that will lead to a better quality of life; instead of returning to the traditional lifestyle of their community, they hope to succeed in their new surrounding.
With the household registration system, or hukou (户口) serving as the main source of restriction, many workers are unable to receive access to social services in either their hometowns or urban residences. With many migrant workers living in dorms connected to their places of employment, it is no wonder that they suffer from a sense of isolation and are unable to connect with their surrounding communities. Simultaneously, they have broken off emotional bonds at home leaving them without a full sense of community to which they can return.
Present and Future
In 2008, migrant workers earned an average of ¥850 per month, while urban workers in Nanjing made slightly more at ¥1,050. Neither salary is particularly high by modern urban standards, and both groups are made to work at least 11 hours a day, 26 days a month, in extreme cases not even receiving a single day off work. Aside from inadequate reimbursement and dangerously long hours, many migrants also reported frequent delays and unexplained decreases in their pay. Furthermore, employers are not required by law to provide a certain level of benefits for migrant workers. In 2008, only 19 percent of migrant workers had some sort of health insurance, while only 26 percent had access to sick pay or paid leave. Due to medical treatment being far more expensive in urban areas than in the rural countryside, migrant workers often need to seek out inferior medical care in their hometowns. Families also feel the strain of this line of work in their private lives as migration divides countless families. In a culture where family relations are so vital that even public transportation can falter in the face of millions clamouring to return home, long distance relationships present a challenge.
More than half of Chinese migrant workers are married, however most couples face immense obstacles such as being split between work and home, being unable to care for their own children, and perhaps even unable to spend time with one another. In 2009, the rate of divorced couples increased for the seventh year in a row, by 8.8 percent. Even more tellingly, between 50 and 80 percent of divorces involve migrant workers. Those born after 1980 at times remained unmarried and list loneliness as a primary source of dissatisfaction with life.
Despite continued hardships that have followed migrant workers for generations into the new millennium, improvements have been made, at the very least at the policy level. Policies enacted in 2003 require employers to sign contracts with migrant workers, pay them on time, and reimburse them for all time upon termination. In 2013, salaries rose by 13.9 percent to a slightly more realistic level. The All-China Federation of Trade Unions also encourages migrant workers to join local unions; and by 2008 half of this massive workforce had become unionized. On another front, more efforts are being made to help Chinese migrant workers uphold family ties. In 2007, the ACFTU assisted over 30.3 million individuals in returning home for Chinese New Year by setting up special group tickets, trains, and buses. Furthermore, the trade union secured millions of RMB in back wages for migrant workers and provided them with financial scholarships and assistance, illustrating the government’s willingness to provide better circumstances for such a substantial part of their population. Tying in with plans to urbanize half of its 1.3 billion people by 2020, and 70 percent by 2050, the central government is gradually loosening the rigid hukou system to allow millions of migrants to settle in cities and receive benefits associated with urban residency.
While progress has been made with regard to these previously harshly neglected members of society, only such incremental changes will help them thrive over the longer term in the very same society they are helping to build.
This article was first published in The Nanjinger Magazine, February 2015 Issue. If you would like to read the whole magazine, please follow this link.
