Showing posts with label Migrant worker. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Migrant worker. Show all posts

Friday, January 02, 2015

The poor mental health of migrant factory workers - Zhang Lijia

Zhang Lijia
+Lijia Zhang 
Former factory worker, and now author Zhang Lijia looks on her weblog into the fate of Xu Lizhi, a 24-year old Foxconn worker, who of many who jumped to death on September 20. Xu was not only a migrant worker, but also a poet, she tells us.
Zhang Lijia:
Xu came from a poor village in Guangdong. Having completed senior middle school, he joined Foxconn in February 2011, when the ripples caused by the spate of suicides were dying down. The monthly salary of 1,700 yuan (HK$2,150) seemed a fortune to him at first. But the changing shifts and repetitive and tedious work on the assembly line soon took its toll. He poured his bitterness in his poems. 
I swallowed a moon made of iron, 
They refer to it as a nail. 
I swallowed this industrial sewage, these unemployment documents. 
Some of his poems were first published in his factory’s newspaper and then migrant literary journals. He even earned himself a reputation among migrant poets. 
Most of these poets write while living in the city. After a few years, they go home and get married. Xu wished to take roots in Shenzhen, a city he felt he had a connection with. In some ways, Xu is the modern Chinese version of Jude the Obscure, the hero in Thomas Hardy’s classic novel, a stonemason who dreams of becoming a scholar. Xu’s failed path to success was as narrow as that of a working class lad in Victorian England
The migrant workers are more or less chained to their production line, which Xu found stultifying. An avid reader, he tried to find a book-related job. He applied unsuccessfully for a job as a librarian at Foxconn, and later for a job with a bookstore, which also was denied him, possibly because of his status as a migrant. 
China’s hukou system – the household registration system that divides the population into two distinct categories of the urban and rural – makes things harder for the migrants, who don’t have the same access to job opportunities, health care and education as other city residents. They are often discriminated against in terms of salary and treatment. 
The Chinese government recently announced a plan to relax control over the system in a bid to narrow the gap between rural and urban areas and to help migrants better assimilate into city life. But the process will be a long and slow one. 
In the meantime, actions must be taken to address the mental health problems of migrant workers. Professor Cheng urges the authorities to introduce compulsory mental health testing in factories, along with the annual health check which has been in place for some time. He recommends that employers provide workers with more time and opportunity to socialise so that they will not feel so lonely. And he calls on all factories to introduce the practice of "positive psychological intervention", involving setting up hotlines and counselling services. After the spate of suicides, Foxconn, under pressure from all sides, has indeed introduced such a practice. This was certainly the right move. However, in light of the mountain of challenges migrant workers face, the measure alone can’t solve all the mental health problems. The workers’ struggle is likely to continue.
More at Zhang Lijia´s website.

Zhang Lijia is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need her at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers´ request form.

Are you interested in more stories by Zhang Lijia? Check out this regularly updated list.  

Monday, September 15, 2014

Why are migrant kids still kicked out of schools - Zhang Lijia

Zhang Lijia
+Lijia Zhang 
The central government might be trying to heal some of the wrongs related to hukou´s, like migrant children not allowed to attend schools in cities. But reality is still harsh, tells author Zhang Lijia in the South China Morning Post, as her neighbor´s kid is forced to leave.

Zhang Lijia:
The start of a new school year should be a joyful time. Instead, in Beijing, it has heralded tears and painful family separations: the children of migrant workers who failed to secure a place at a local school have been forced to leave. 
The family of my neighbour, Mr Ma, a self-employed electrician, is among those affected. His wife has just taken their seven-year-old daughter, Qiuyu, and her visiting brother, Xiaobao, back to their home village outside Datong , in central Shanxi province
Qiuyu had been at home for nine months, after her private unlicensed kindergarten run by a fellow migrant was shut down by the authorities who said it lacked safety measures. My neighbourhood in Jiuxianqiao village is populated by migrant workers. In recent months, the Mas visited dozens of primary schools in the area. All migrant schools seem to have closed and all state schools demanded five documents, including a temporary resident permit, rental contract and proof of employment. Mr Ma had none of them.
Mrs Ma had decided to leave her husband and go back to her home village.
It's clear that the government has not done nearly enough. Perhaps the authorities' wish to maintain stability means they seek to prevent thousands of farmers rushing to the city. Perhaps our leaders do not fully realise the negative long-term effects on the left-behind children. If their problems persist into adulthood, how can we expect to build a "harmonious society"? 
The government needs to take urgent action. It should offer financial incentives to local schools that take in migrant children or simply set quotas. Given that local schools cannot accommodate all the children, schools for children of migrant workers should be given legal status. Instead of simply shutting down substandard schools, authorities should offer support. And finally, the hukou system must be abolished. 
Back in my neighbourhood, an air of sadness hangs over Mr Ma and his home; outside, where the family had spent many happy hours, little Qiuyu's bike now stands forlornly.
More in the South China Morning Post.

Zhang Lijia is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need her at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers´ request form.

Are you interested in more stories by Zhang Lijia? Check our regularly updated list here. 

Wednesday, January 08, 2014

The mental health of migrant workers - Zhang Lijia

Zhang Lijia
+Lijia Zhang 
Migrant workers suffer from a wide range of mental disorders, caused by their working situation, tells author Zhang Lijia at the CNN-website. Her findings are based on recent research by Yu Cheng,Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou. More action on the workplace is needed.

Zhang Lijia:
Cheng said he first noticed this issue five years ago when he conducted research on the mental health of sex workers in the region, most of whom worked at factories before turning to prostitution. 
In 2010, the issue made international headlines after a spate of worker suicides at Foxconn, a large electronic manufacturer that assembles many Apple products, making the professor determined to find out the root causes of the workers' mental health problems. 
Loneliness and a sense of isolation were reported to be among the reasons that drove the workers to jump off factory and dormitory roofs. 
Though the focus of Cheng's research was in the southern province of Guangdong, the mental health of migrants is likely to be similar elsewhere in the country. 
Some 260 million Chinese farmers have left their villages and to work in cities, according to the China Labour Bulletin. 
Despite their contribution to China's economic miracle, the social status of these migrant workers remains low... 
The government recently announced plans to relax the control over hukou system in a bid to narrow the gap between rural and urban areas and to help migrants assimilate better into the city life. But the process will be a long and slow one. 
"We just have to pay more attention to mental diseases as they can lead to suicide," said Cheng. 
He recommends compulsory mental health testing in the workplace and a practice he calls "positive psychological intervention" -- setting up hotlines and counseling services and providing workers with more opportunities to socialize.
More at the CNN website.

Zhang Lijia is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need her at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers´request form.
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