There are 110 million migrant workers in China aged between 16 and 40 years old. They left home in the hope of building a better life for themselves and their family, yet when they start a family of their own, they are faced with a stark choice; either take their children to the cities and subject them to institutionalized discrimination, or leave them behind in the countryside in the uncertain care of relatives.
Recent research has shown that the number of children left behind is about 58 million, three times higher than previously estimated. Moreover, compared with other children, those left behind are more likely to be victims of crime, and a significantly higher proportion suffers from psychological and behavioral problems caused by long-term separation from their parents.
In the cities, the children of migrant workers usually attend sub-standard schools and illegal clinics because of their “inferior” status and low household income. As their parents have to work excessively long hours in arduous jobs leaving little or no time for their families, migrant children in cities consequently develop psychological problems disturbingly similar to those left behind.
China Labour Bulletin’s Aris Chan has conducted extensive research on migrant workers in China and presents below the first in a comprehensive three-part survey on the children of these workers. The first part looks at those left behind, the second part will examine the plight of migrant workers’ children in the cities, and the final section will analyze the response of the Chinese government to this increasingly serious issue. The study concludes that the only real and lasting solution to the problems of migrant workers’ children is the abolition of China’s antiquated and discriminatory household registration (hukou 戶口) system, and the establishment of a welfare system equally accessible to all.
