Migrant Workers Suddenly Idle in China, Time, Feb 01, 2009
From my web site on Dontai.com I collect news articles published daily around the world from private and corporate bloggers and news agencies that write about China. China Beat put up an article by Robert O’Brien, a graduate of George Washington University and a current Fulbright Scholar in China. His summary: China’s migrant workers are coping. They have savings and land to live off, they won’t revolt and cause a fuss.
There is merit to his claims. With China’s high savings rates and a couple of decades of economic advancement, most families should have much stashed away for the inevitable rainy day.
The author cites an article from the Washington Post that leads with the plight of Li Jiang, a 27 year old migrant worker. He has worked for 11 years, was laid off 2 months ago and is not destitute. He has no money for food nor for a return ticket to his native Guizhou. One needs to ask how you work for 11 years, not save, and two months into unemployment you are destitute? The story certainly seems plausable but one should question the financial wherewithal of Mr. Li.
We too have migrant workers as family floating about in the bowels of inner China, searching for a way to eek out a living. One can only hope that they put away some of the feast so that they can feast again.
