Life-course experiences of laid-off workers and their attitudes towards migrant workers in urban China

Abstract

the labour market experiences of laid-off workers from three Chinese cities were analysed to determine how the event of being laid off impacted the lives of the workers over the ten-year period since redundancy. the trajectory for the workers over this period was downward sloping, with many workers descending into poverty. Some have been able to be upwardly mobile, due to social networks (guanxi) or taking advantage of market opportunities through education and training, but many of the workers who were upwardly mobile simply found unskilled jobs, which were less unappealing than manual factory work. overall mobility, whether up or down, was on a minor scale. older workers are still the most vulnerable group and require assistance in adjusting to the new labour system. those workers who are feeling optimistic about their future in the open market and are not threatened by migrant workers, who fill the ranks of the supplementary-service sector, feel that they are contributing to the general increase in prosperity. overall, the state-owned enterprise (Soe) system still dominates workers' mentalities, while the new labour market system is benefiting only a privileged few.

Intergenerational differences in social support for the community‐living elderly in Beijing, China

“…After the reform, the danwei system ( danwei refers to a place of employment in the context of state‐owned sector during the planned economy of China) gradually collapsed. The laid‐off workers lost their employment and some of the welfare they used to have, which resulted in many of them living under the poverty line . Together with the economic reform, China has also gone through a reform in social welfare systems, including a health care and pension reform as well as the commercialization of housing in urban areas.…”

“…The laid-off workers lost their employment and some of the welfare they used to have, which resulted in many of them living under the poverty line. 34 Together with the economic reform, China has also gone through a reform in social welfare systems, including a health care and pension reform as well as the commercialization of housing in urban areas. With the rapid economic development in China, the young generation has been able to take advantages of market opportunities through education and training, while the laid-off workers were facing economic hardship.…”