Listen to Young Migrant Workers

China's young migrant workers are taking part in research to highlight their lives to inform ways employers could better care for them in the workplace.  It is hoped that the study will inspire more discussion amongst international companies, their supplier factories and Chinese government departments about Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) relating to young people, and suggest methods on how to put it into practice.   The study will help companies gain a better understanding of young workers and how they perceive their situation. 

Young people born in the cities to migrant parents as well as young migrants directly from the countryside aged 16 – 23, are involved in the study. Many such workers say they are keen to learn but have few opportunities and think managers do not trust them. They often feel alienated and lonely because their families live far away, and are unsure about what to do in the future. Factory managers are frequently unclear how to supervise these working teenagers, attract and retain them, especially at a time of great change as China urbanizes and opens up for industrialization in the Western regions.
During the study, which began in June 2011, about 120 young workers in six factories will be interviewed in person, and 600 will fill in questionnaires. Young factory workers are involved in collecting data from their colleagues’, organizing focus group discussions and sharing learning to the research team. They also give comments on the final outcome in their factories.  At least one manager at each factory is involved in the study. 

The study takes place in six places - Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangsu, Chongqing, and either Shanghai or Zhejiang. 
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics in 2009 shows there are 230 million migrant workers in China, with a growing number of young workers among them; that group is expected to get even bigger. The UN’s Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by China, states that all boys and girls have the right to have their views taken into account on matters related to them. This study aims at listen to the young workers and including them  as co-researchers.  Unlike their migrant parents who came to the cities 20 years ago for money but often wanted to move back to their villages, many young workers now are fully immersed in the urban lifestyle. 

Britta Ostrom, executive director of the Centre for Child Rights and Corporate Social Responsibility (CCR CSR), said:  “Improving the working situation of the young generation,  is one way to ensure businesses and other key players really think about the ways they treat young people and take action to remedy situations where their welfare, protection and development  is not being properly taken into account.” 

The research is done in partnership with the China National Textile and Apparel Council (CNTAC). The study has mostly been funded by the Swedish Embassy in Beijing.  Final results are expected in November 2011.