Survey Finds 40% Migrant Laborers Work Overtime?
Forty percent of migrant laborers in Chinese cities work more than
eight hours a day and 47 percent work seven days a week, according
to a latest nationwide survey conducted by the National Bureau of
Statistics (NBS).
Of the 29,425 respondents, 26.28 percent have to work nine to 10
hours per day and another 13.61 percent even longer. Thirty-seven
percent only have one day off a week.
Chinese labor laws stipulate that workers should work no more
than eight hours a day and 40 hours a week. Workers are entitled to
at least one full day off a week and should be paid for
overtime.
But ruthless pursuit of profit has resulted in private business
owners taking advantage of migrant workers.
It also found that migrant laborers increased their working
hours voluntarily to earn more money. However, 15 percent of
respondents were not paid on time or in full. Fifty percent
received no pay for overtime and eighty percent were not entitled
to any paid holidays.
The survey said only 27 percent of the respondents were covered
by endowment insurance, 26 percent by medical insurance, 15 percent
by unemployment insurance and 33 percent by injury insurance.
Statistics show about 130 million people from the countryside
have sought jobs in the country's urban areas since the late
1980s.
Most of them work as construction workers, security guards and
waiters where they encounter low and often delayed pay, long
working hours, poor safety conditions, lack of social security,
inadequate schooling for their children and substandard living
conditions.
The State Council has called for equal treatment of migrant
laborers by protecting their legal rights and removing all
discriminating regulations.
The State Council has pledged to improve the lives of the
migrant population in order to build a harmonious socialist
society.
(Xinhua News Agency October 23, 2006)