The Austrian Federal Ministry of Economy, Family and Youth (BMWFJ)

and United Nations (UN)

International Conference on youth Policy and Research: From Theory to Practice –

Evidence Based Youth Policy

International Youth Researchers Meeting

Vienna, Austria, 22nd-25th September 2009

Young Migrant Workers in China: Integration Strategies

Ngan-Pun Ngai, PhD, Professor, Department of Social Work, Chinese University of

Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong (E-mail: npngai@cuhk.edu.hk).

Abstract:

Since the 1980s, China’s economic reform and opening

up have transformed itself from a planned economy to a

socialist market economy, and rapidly changed from an

agricultural society to a modern industrial society. At

the same time, the rural labor force has flowed to the

cities where large numbers of workers are needed.

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Currently there are about 120 million migrant workers or

the “floating population” working in urban areas. These

migrant workers are usually at their young age and are

considered as the major human resource of the city's

economic construction. However, their wages are low, and

have been defaulting seriously; long working hours, poor

safety conditions; lack of social security, plenty of

industrial accidents or injuries; lack of job training,

difficulties in children’s schooling and unfavorable

living conditions, etc. Their economic, political, social

rights and interests are not effectively protected. They

are always exposed to various exploitation and violation

of the basic human rights. Migrant workers have become a

major social group as the sacrifice of the development of

contemporary China. Meanwhile, more and more migrant

workers begin to choose legal action or other means to

fight for justice. Therefore, taking effective

integration policy in order to protect the rights of

migrant workers and promoting social harmony, has become

an outstanding issue need to be resolved.

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 This paper examines and discusses some plausible

integration strategies, including the incremental change

of the rural-urban dichotomy social structure, amendment

of the existing household registration system; improving

the regulations, policies and legal procedures to protect

the rights and interests of migrant workers;

institutionalizing the channels for political

participation and participation in political activities ;

enhancing the Government's monitoring capabilities,

implementing the provision of legal assistance;

developing the collective power of civil society in order

to promote the social support; improving the quality of

the migrant workers themselves, rights consciousness, and

social identity; establishing a suitable social security

system for migrant workers; promoting the internal

solidarity and organization of migrant workers; promoting

and monitoring the corporate accountability and so on.