Rural to urban migrant workers in China: challenges of risks and rights

Abstract

PurposeThe rapid urbanization of China brings in large number of migrant workers coming from rural areas. With the perspective of social integration, this study reviews the findings about economic livelihood, social integration and health related to migrant workers since China initiated economic reform. We show that (1) though the economic wellbeing of migrant workers has been improved significantly after they moved to cities, their economic standing is still lower than local residents; (2) though there is progress of social integration between migrant workers and local residents, conflicts and challenges due to the competitions in employment and the sharing of community resource are still commonly found; (3) the disadvantaged status of health is very common among migrant workers and (4) women and the new generation in migration have more disadvantages in the social transition. We suggest that issues of equal rights between migrant workers and local residents should be discussed in the future as more migrant workers intend to stay in cities for long-term.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology is literature reviews based on the current studies about migrant, migration and policy. The first category of literature is the research field on China's migration and urbanization to describe the whole context of migrant workers. The second is research field on detailed issues about migrant workers and the last field is policy issues about the welfare and needs among migrant workers.FindingsWe find that (1) though the economic wellbeing of migrant workers has been improved significantly after they moved to cities, their economic standing is still lower than local residents; (2) though there are progress of social integration between migrant workers and local residents, conflicts and challenges due to the competitions in employment and the sharing of community resource are still commonly found; (3) the disadvantaged status of health is very common among migrant workers and (4) women and the new generation in migration face more disadvantages in the social transition.Research limitations/implicationsThere are some limitations in the current research: (1) the review focuses on the majority of migrant workers to reveal the general picture about the living, developing and rights among migrant workers, but is still lacking in dealing with some special and disadvantaged groups. (2) More international issues related to migrant workers should be discussed in the future considering that China's labor market is becoming more and more global.Social implicationsFirst, the conclusion about the economic and social integration among migrant workers indicates that more equal welfare services, including resident services, commence services, medical services etc. should be included in the municipal managements considering that Chinese cities will be the combination of local residents and migrant residents. Second, the conclusion about the women and children indicates that the future public services targeted at the disadvantaged population should focus on migrant members due to the second generation of migrant workers will be one of the mainstream population in future China's cities.Originality/valueThis study gives general views on migrant workers in current China. The findings in this review conclude the main development and improvements among tens of millions of migrant workers in Chinese cities. Meanwhile, we also conclude that there are still many disadvantaged and marginalized sub-groups in migration who are suffering from less welfares and rights in urban lives. More detailed and equal rights and public services should be considered and implemented in the fast urbanization taking place.