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CHINA / National |
Half of China's migrant workers unhappy with social status(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-01-13 09:29 BEIJING - Only 7.6 percent of migrant workers in China are satisfied with their social status, according to a survey carried out by Shanghai's Fudan University. The survey, which questioned 30,000 migrant workers in major Chinese cities, found 68 percent of migrant workers believed urbanites did not fully accept them or accept them at all. The report also showed that working overtime was common for migrant workers - more than 80 percent worked more than eight hours a day and 18 percent worked more than 10 hours. Only 16.4 percent of migrant workers had more than five days a month off and 55 percent had less than two days off a month, it said. Working overtime with little holiday made migrant workers tired so accidents easily occur, it said. Exhaustion prevented them from having time to study thus few opportunities were available, it added. All these factors made migrant workers unsatisfied with their urban life, it concluded. The report also revealed that China's migrant workers' incomes rose in 2007. Their average monthly wage reached 1,200 yuan (US$165) in 2007, up 200 yuan over the previous year, said the report. But still 22.2 percent of migrant workers were unable to save money as their incomes were only just enough to cover their living expenses. About 44.6 percent migrant workers hoped to continue to work in cities and 17 percent hoped to find jobs in Beijing or its surrounding areas, it said. China has about 200 million migrant workers across the country. |
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