A Research On The Employment Discrimination Of Chinese Peasant Workers

As the rapid development of industrialization and urbanization, more and moresurplus rural labors have come to the city to work in non-agricultural industry sincethe opening up of China. However, although these rural labors have changed theirprofessional identities, they still cannot change their social identities, because of therestriction of dual economic structure between town and country. Thus has formed theabnormal social group with Chinese characteristics, peasant-workers. Although theemployment of peasant-workers in cities has made great contribution to thedevelopment of industrialization, prosperity of urban economy, and decreasing gapbetween town and country, they have not received recognition and acceptance of theurban societies, and experienced serious employment discrimination. Therefore, it isof great significance to research on the problems of employment discrimination ofpeasant-workers. This dissertation researches on the problems of employmentdiscrimination of Chinese peasant-workers on the basis of labor economics theoriesby using methods of historical analysis, comparison analysis, social survey,econometric analysis, etc. The main contents of this dissertation are as follows：Firstly, it analyses several representative theories on the western labor marketdiscrimination, reviews the research findings about peasant-workers employmentdiscrimination, and gives an objective evaluation of the previous references. These arethe theoretical basis for research of the following chapters on Chinesepeasant-workers employment discrimination.Secondly, it researches on the formation of peasant-worker group and the wholepicture of their employment. The core problem of dual economy transition is thetransfer of agricultural surplus labor. But being affected by the late institutionalreform of dual economy system, the vast number of agricultural labor that work in thenon-agricultural sectors in town have not settled down in town, because of theunbalanced institutional change in the process of dual economy transit. Thus, thesepeople are workers in professions, but still peasants in social status sense, i.e., peasantworkers. In2011, the total number of peasant workers in our country is about253 million, and among which there are about160million migrant peasant works. Peasantworkers which have become the main part of industry workers in our country, havemade historical contribution for the industrialization, urbanization, and economic andsocial development.Thirdly，it proposes a criterion of employment discrimination of Chinese peasantworkers based on the employment discriminatory theory in labor economics, andanalyses the manifestations of peasant workers’ employment discrimination.Employment discrimination of peasant workers is in the forms of employmentopportunity discrimination, employment treatment discrimination, and employmentsecurity discrimination. Employment opportunity discrimination refers to charges forand occupations restrictions on peasant-workers. Employment treatmentdiscrimination is embodied in overtime work, poor employment environment, wagediscrimination, and professional training discrimination. Employment securitydiscrimination is showed in low rate of labor contract signing, and non-social security.Fourthly, it analyses on the economic and social effect on employmentdiscrimination of peasant-workers. It causes net losses to the total social employmentby affecting labor market demand for peasant workers. It increases the costs, anddecreases profits, which further affect the labor demand. It decreases the motivationand ability in human capital investment of peasant workers, which will hinder theimprovement of human capital level. It reduces the willingness of peasant workers tobecome citizens, weakens the ability to settle down in town, which cause the specialpattern of peri-unbanization. It goes against social equity and social justice, and willfinally endanger social stability by the problems caused.Fifthly, it analyses the institutional roots on employment discrimination ofpeasant-workers. Employment discrimination is the problem of all market economiccountries. But the employment discrimination of Chinese peasant-workers is differentfrom labor market discrimination of western countries. The labor marketdiscrimination of western countries belongs to market discrimination which is fromemployer, and the government is the opponent of discrimination. The employmentdiscrimination of Chinese peasant-workers belongs to institutional discrimination, andthe government is the dominant player of discrimination. The employment discrimination of Chinese peasant-workers has deep institutional roots, which are thedual household registration system of city and country, the employment institution ofurban priority, the unequal education system, the imperfection of anti-employmentdiscrimination, and the deficiency of political participation rights of peasant-workers.Sixthly, it finds out the experience of anti-employment discrimination of westerncountries which we would learn from. Employment discrimination goes against withthe principle of fair market competition, and affects economic development and socialstability. Many developed countries, such as the U.S., Canada, and Netherlands,oppose employment discrimination and acquire sound effects by legislation,administrative order, establishing special organizations, and exercising functions ofnon-governmental organization, etc. The practices of these countries provide usexperiences to solve the problem of peasant workers’ employment discrimination.The perfect anti-employment discrimination law system is the institutional conditionfor solving employment discrimination. The exclusive agencies of anti-employmentdiscrimination are the organizational guarantee, and the participation of the wholesociety advocated by government is the social conditions for solving employmentdiscrimination.Finally, it proposes the policies and suggestions to eliminate employmentdiscrimination of peasant-workers. First is to improve legislation, execute centralizedhousehold registration system, and to reform household registration system formigration. Second is to carry out a fair employment system between urban and rural,establish a uniform labor market between urban and rural.Third is to construct perfectanti-employment discrimination law system. That is to enact law of anti-employmentdiscrimination to clear laws and regulations which have discriminatory clauses, and toestablish exclusive agencies on anti-employment discrimination. Fourth is to perfectthe system of political participation of peasant-workers. That is to guarantee thepolitical participation rights, to support the establishment of labor union, to improvethe consciousness and ability of political participation. Fifth is to improve the level ofhuman capital of peasant-workers. That is to strengthen the rural education, theinvestment of health care, and training, to guarantee the education forpeasant-workers’ children. Sixth is to include peasant-workers into social security system. That is to solve the work-related injury insurance, healthcare insurance,endowment insurance and basic life assistance.