Peasant worker has become major force of China's working class

The latest statistics show peasant worker has become major force of the Chinese working class, reveals Li Yonghai, a deputy of CPPCC and Director of the Research Office of the All China Federation of Trade Unions at a group meeting of the 6th session of the 10th CPPCC Standing Committee on July 6.

The All China Federation of Trade Unions has conducted a yearlong survey on the employees in China along with the State Statistic Bureau. The result of the survey indicates there are 744.23 million employees in China by the end of 2003. 49. 1 percent of them work in the first industry; 21.6 percent in second industry and 29.3 percent in third industry. A total of 378.86 million work in the second and third industries. Number of employees working in SOEs and collective enterprises has declined to 66.21 million and 9.5 million respectively. This means peasant worker is becoming a major force of the working class.

The peasant workers mainly work in the second industry, accounting for 82.7 percent of total laborers. Of them, 66.2 percent are in manufacture industry; 13 percent are in construction industry; 3.5 percent in mine industry.

With the peasants workers becoming the major force, the social security problem has turned a major problem. Only 33.7 percent peasant workers have old age insurance; 10.3 percent has unemployment insurance; 21.6 percent has medical incurrence; 31.8 percent have on job injury insurance; and 5.5 percent of female peasant workers enjoy child-bearing insurance. Only 2.9 percent, 3.1 percent and 5.6 percent of peasant workers have enterprise complementary insurance, employee cooperative insurance and commercial insurance.

Such low rate of insurance is a great hidden trouble for their life, working and social stability.

Source: People's Daily Online