Local Two Sessions Reflect the Needs of Migrant Workers "Advancing with the Times"

Source: Workers Daily

【Frontiers of Migrant Work】Local Two Sessions Reflect the Needs of Migrant Workers "Advancing with the Times"

Deng Qifan

The local two sessions are a window for observing the pace of reform and policy trends in various localities. Since the beginning of the year, various localities have successively entered the time of the provincial two sessions, according to the statistics of the reporter of the "Workers Daily", as of now, 30 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities across the country have held two sessions.

At the meetings that have been held, topics related to migrant workers have been repeatedly mentioned, and many deputies and members have also put forward their own opinions and suggestions. From the initial "rice bowl" problem to today's "development" problem, the window of the two sessions reflects that the situation of migrant workers is "advancing with the times". On the other hand, with this change, the migrant worker group has many new needs in the development, and everyone expects that the policy can also be adjusted with this new change.

In 2008, zhu Xueqin from Shanghai was one of three migrant workers elected as deputies to the 11th National People's Congress for the first time. She was then elected as a deputy to the 12th National People's Congress. Problems such as wage arrears, yin-yang contracts, and units not purchasing social security were all brought to the two sessions of the National People's Congress for discussion.

Combing through the suggestions of the deputies and members of the local two sessions this year, these topics related to the "survival" of migrant workers in previous years have been more replaced by "development" topics such as "new citizens", "skills training", and "better employment".

For example, Liu Yi, a member of the Chongqing Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, put forward suggestions such as further improving the vocational skill level evaluation system and incentive measures for skilled personnel when talking about the "difficulty of recruiting workers and retaining workers", and increasing the individual tax threshold for manufacturing employees.

There is a background behind this proposal: Now, migrant workers have become the main body of industrial workers on the mainland. According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on January 17, the total number of migrant workers in 2021 will exceed 290 million. This huge contingent is increasingly looking to get policy attention such as skills training and promotion channels.

Last year, the "2021 New Generation of Migrant Workers Vocational Skills Survey Report" participated in the release of Workers Daily showed that 69.1% of the new generation of migrant workers surveyed after 95 were eager to obtain vocational skills training opportunities.

This cross-section reflects the changes in the situation and needs of migrant workers themselves. In recent years, the new generation of migrant workers has grown day by day and has gradually become the main body. Someone once used a string of image contrasts to depict a group portrait difference between the new and old migrant workers: the old generation is pulling snakeskin bags into the city, the new generation is carrying a trolley box; the old generation is going to the city to earn money and return to the hometown to spend money, the new generation is to integrate into urban development; the old generation demands to pay wages, the new generation requires insurance; the old generation calls for improved labor conditions, and the new generation hopes to share the fruits of development...

These changes have been reflected in the opinions and suggestions of the local two sessions. The suggestions of the deputies and members of various localities are full of the characteristics of the times, and the suggestions and measures related to the employment of migrant workers are closely linked to the revitalization of the countryside, and the "employment at the doorstep" and "new business economy" have been widely discussed; the suggestions of many places have emphasized strengthening the layout of vocational education, giving due subsidies and attention to technical personnel, and establishing a labor talent team with local characteristics; in view of the details of integration into the city, medical treatment in different places, and labor security, deputies and members of various localities have put forward more suggestions with temperature, depth, and thickness.

We have reason to expect that with the changes in the situation of migrant workers themselves, while continuing to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of migrant workers, the policy will also help migrant workers develop better in vocational skills training, employment and entrepreneurship, and career development.