Elementary Research On The Legal Protection Of Migrant Workers' Labor Right

Since the eighties of last century, with the depth of reform and open policy, and the acceleration of industrialization and urbanization in China, a large number of surplus laborers in rural area have walked into cities to work. Although they are registered as peasants, they have done non-farm work in cities, which has become their major source of income. As a result, a special group has taken shape in our society, i.e. migrant workers. These workers have worked very hard in all walks of life and made a great contribution to our socialist modernization constructions. However, as laborers and constructors in cities, their deserved rights and interests haven't been protected satisfactorily, even seriously infringed in various ways, which not only have infringed these workers' own rights and interests, but also brought about a series of serious social problems. Thus, the questions about how to protect these workers' rights and interests, realize social equality, and construct a harmonious society have aroused general concern in our society.To protect these workers' labor right is the core of all protections. This dissertation focuses on the study of protection of these workers' labor right. It consists of three chapters.Chapter 1Chapter 1 is a summary of migrant workers. Migrant workers is a specifically concept in the transform of Chinese economic and society. They are registered as peasants, and have jobbed land. But they do non-farm work, which has become their major source of income. As a special labor group, peasant is their identity sign, non-farm work is their occupation sign. According to their identity and occupation sign, they are fringe group between city and country, who neither belong to city nor country. It's a common trend that peasants do non-farm work and go to the city with industrialization and increase of agriculture productivity. But, because system transform and social structure transform doesn't take place in the same time, the diversion of country system laborer to worker takes the special form of migrant worker. The forming of migrant worker has a strong connection with the change of household register system, or the policy against migrant worker in another word. It came through three phases. First phase, before innovation, city and country was completely segregated, and peasants were forbidden to turn into non-farm work. Second phase, 80s, migrant worker start to form when the duality of city and country social structure became flexible. Third phase, from 90s until now, migrant worker developed steadily. Most migrant workers are young people. Their educational level is higher than their hometown, but lower than cities where they moved to. They mainly work in manufacturing, construction and service, in eastern part of China and large cities. They work long time everyday, but only get bad salary. And back pay is still a serious problem.Chapter 2Problems in the protection of migrant worker labor right. Migrant workers are discriminated in labor market, right to equal employment is infringed. Right to equal employment is the right that citizen should have equal opportunity to get job despite of sex, race, ancestry, age, religion, political thoughts, and social origin, and other rights about work. Right to equal employment has been prescribed in international law, as well as in Chinese constitution and labor law. But in fact, laborers are discriminated more or less during whole working process, including profession discrimination, employment discrimination, wage discrimination, re-employment discrimination, discrimination about the cost of labor market. There are many reasons why migrant workers are discriminated in labor market. These are legal ones: cognizance about employment discrimination is too narrow which makes lots of actual discrimination have no legal support; lack of clear legal definition about employment discrimination and rules about cognizance, furthermore, no exception about employment discrimination; lack of relief procedure about employment discrimination. Current household register system is the root of discrimination against migrant worker. Legal liability against infringement on labor right is slight, and stipulated too fundamental. It hurts law's authority. Legal liability is prerequisite for law to exist and be effective. Legal liability against employer not to sign labor contract and default of wage represents how slight legal liability against infringement on labor right is.Chapter 3Advices about the protection of migrant worker labor right.About right to equal employment: 1, clear profession-reserved statute. Profession-reserved statute is not an advancement for market economy innovation, it's a retrogress for household register system and employment system innovation; 2. Give migrant worker finance expiation for their pre-labor market discrimination. 3. Innovate current household register system. Household register system is the ultimate reason why migrant workers can't be treated equally. So it's the primary task to innovate current household register system. 4. Constitute anti-discrimination law as soon as possible. Widen the application of anti-discrimination law. Anti-discrimination law should include all kinds of employment discrimination, and strengthen maneuverability. 5. Establish equal employment opportunity committee or something like that. Embitter legal liability of infraction against migrant worker labor right. Current legal liability of infraction against labor right is too slight, indulges the infraction against migrant worker. Current single economy liability should be changed into multi-levels and multi-kinds liabilities. According to the different infraction against migrant worker, besides amends for migrant worker, sentence employer administrative liability, even criminal liability.