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Help migrant workers

(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-11-07 14:54

Who bears the brunt of the impact of the financial meltdown on China?

The answer is: rural villagers-turned workers, who flock to the processing industry that is closely related to foreign trade with the United States and other developed countries.

They are the ones, who have contributed tremendously to the economic prosperity of the country's coastal areas, the Pearl River Delta in particular.

And it is their efforts that have helped "made-in China" brands grain acceptance in the world market. And their hard work has contributed to the country's huge foreign exchange reserve, too.

There are millions of them in the Pearl River Delta. Such workers from southwestern Sichuan province alone number 1.3 million in Shenzhen.

But they are having a hard time right now. Statistics from the National Development and Reform Commission show that more than 60,000 small and medium-sized enterprises have closed down in the first half of this year. Some 50 Hong Kong enterprises applied for bankruptcy in the first half of last month alone in the Pearl Delta Area.

The passenger volume has been rising rapidly at the railway station in Guangzhou, capital city of Guangdong province, in the past weeks. Migrant workers laid off who have no hope of landing a new job in the near future have started to return to their hometowns.

They are the most miserable as they have families back at home to take care of with their meager income while making contributions to the economic miracle of the coastal areas. Without enough savings for the days before landing another job and any particular professional skill to help them find other jobs, returning to farm their land back in their villages seems to be the only option for them.

The difficult situation they have run into coincides with the CPC Central Committee's decision last month to further increase the income and promote the consumption of rural villagers.

Their difficulty will, to some extent, have a bearing on the average income of rural people as the income of these laborers means a lot to their families.

Fortunately, the central government has already sent senior officials to the Pearl River Delta to inspect how serious the situation is and will hereafter be. Eleven provinces and cities that have migrant villagers working in the area have also established close communication with local governments in the delta area in their attempt to find out ways to help the laborers who lost their jobs.

The Dongguan municipal government allocated 2.4 million yuan ($347,000) from its own coffer to pay unpaid workers when 7,000 workers lost their jobs after the closure of the toy manufacturer Smart Union Group (Holdings) Limited last month. Some local governments in the area are considering establishing a fund to help unpaid workers.

Even those who have returned home need help from local governments in organizing professional training for those seeking jobs or starting their own business in their hometown or elsewhere.

This is also the time when our government must make the best use of both its financial and administrative advantages to extend a helping hand to them.