CONSTRUCTION IN CHINA: THE WORKERS Gemma Thorpe
Following 3 pages: Looking down to the centre of the Bird始s Nest Stadium, Olympic Park, Beijing On the roof of Nanjing Exhibition and Conference Centre, Jiangsu Province At the New University Zone in Lushun, Dalian, Liaoning Province
CONSTRUCTION IN CHINA: THE WORKERS
Iʼm drawn to the construction workers because they stand out from the crowds somehow. Perhaps I am drawn to them because they too are outsiders in a sense: the vast majority of construction workers are migrants from rural areas, who travel across the country to work in Chinaʼs urban centres. When I first arrived in China I became aware that the family unit is of upmost importance in relations within society, something I fear is being lost in the West. Yet here were thousands, millions of people living and working away from their families and hometowns, moving to the cities and doing the jobs that go unseen or are unwanted by city dwellers. The jobs that are sustaining Chinaʼs development. I focused on the construction workers because I admire their toughness and their camaraderie makes me smile. They seem to walk through the cities with intent, united in their work and united by their stories. It is these people that are building Chinaʼs future, who are physically creating the changes and sustaining the booming economy that Western media never tires of reporting. I feel it is important to show the other side to the story, the very human issue of people working hard and deserving respect. There are more than 40 million construction workers in China. This is more than half of the entire population of the UK. From September to December 2007, I photographed construction workers at three sites in Dalian, Beijing and Nanjng.
IN 2001 THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY IN CHINA CONTRIBUTED 6.7% OF THE NATION始S GDP.
Liu Yu Bin
from Pan Jin, Liaoning Province working at Dalian New University Zone 217 miles from home
On site at Dalian New University Zone Next page: workers from Shandong Province take a break at Olympic Park in Beijing
Washing lunch bowls before returning to work in Nanjing
Wen Guang Hai
from Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province working at Nanjing Exhibition Centre 178 miles from home
Construction workers gather around a television set at night, Nanjing
Dong Hong Liang in his dormitory at Olympic Park, Beijing
IN 2003, MIGRANT WORKERS FROM ANHUI PROVINCE SENT AN ESTIMATED 30 BILLION YUAN HOME, MORE THAN THE AMOUNT OF YEARLY REVENUE FOR THE ENTIRE PROVINCE.
Next page: returning to the dormitories after work in Nanjing
Ding Chao
from Ming Cheng, Anhui Province working at Nanjing Exhibition Centre 161 miles from home
Inside the library for construction workers at Olympic Park in Beijing
Zhu He and Tang Shao Hua
from Pei Xian, Jiangsu Province working at Nanjing Exhibition Centre 238 miles from home
Serving the evening meal in Dalian
Taking time out near the dormitories in Nanjing
IN TOTAL, MORE THAN 100,000 PEOPLE WILL HAVE HELPED TO BUILD OLYMPIC PARK IN BEIJING.
Workers inside the Bird始s Nest Stadium at Olympic Park, Beijing
Washing clothes at the dormitories in Nanjing
Previous page: waking up in Dalian Next page: phone numbers advertise workers and people with industrial tools available for hire in Nanjing
Peng Guan Ming and Chen Shi Cai from Chongqing, working at Dalian New University Zone 1073 miles from home
Cheng Yong Xie and Ma Xi Qing in their dormitory at Olympic Park in Beijing
Audience at the outdoor cinema near the workers始 dormitories, Olympic Park, Beijing
Chang Ren Guang and Chang Jia Qiao from Fang Huo, Jiangsu Province working at Nanjing Exhibition Centre 120 miles from home
If I can change one thing, I want to change the rights and interests of us migrant workers. I have worked for several employers, but it always turned out to be against our will. What we do is dangerous (steel structure installation) . But our working time of each day is two or three hours longer than is stated by the government, and our wage and income are extremely low. Besides, our social status is low as well. If there are other ways to make a living, almost nobody would do this job. In fact, we are not looking down upon our job! As our society is evolving , people are needed for all kinds of jobs. We just want to have a better working environment, that is, we want real distribution, according to work, to be paid timely, and to be cared for by our employers. (For example, sometimes we need money to deal with urgent things at home, or when we want to go back home, but even such trivial demand will not be satisfied. We are upset by that). Anyway, we migrant workers donʼt have labour, income and safety guarantees. At last, we expect to receive attention from society, hoping to be understood. If so, we will be unafraid of work as hard as it can be. After all, society construction itself is a good thing.
by Feng Qian
from Lu Zhou, Sichuan Province working at Nanjing Exhibition Centre 843 miles from home
Sun Xiao Li brought 2 year old Tian Tian to visit her father Li Qun Fan at his work site in Dalian. They returned home to Henan Province after two months when it became too cold to stay in the rooms on-site. Li will continue to work at construction sites to earn money to support his family.
Chinaʼs rise on the global stage has been well documented, overtaking the UK in 2006 to become the worldʼs fourth biggest economy behind the US, Japan and Germany. After a period of remarkable expansion, the countryʼs GDP multiplying 20 times in as many years, the economy has somewhat stabilised and an annual growth rate is predicted at 8% until 2010. This is still 2% higher than world averages. Physical and material changes are the instantly visual symbols of development, however it is people that are at the wheel of the economic drive. Those most affected by the Reform and Opening Policies begun in 1979, are normal people doing normal jobs. The majority of these people travel hundreds, even thousands, of miles for these jobs, knowing they can make enough money to send home to their families. Restrictions that previously prevented people from rural areas working in cities were first lifted in 1984. It is believed that over 70% of employees in the construction industry are former farmers. Domestic migration for employment is a phenomenon now in its second generation since the opening of the economy over 20 years ago. China is witnessing a mass movement from rural to urban areas, a natural outcome as a result of recent and rapid industrialisation. Figures in 2004 showed there were 130 million migrant workers in Chinese cities, providing the majority of the industrial workforce. Migrant workers not only contribute directly to the economy of the city they are working in, but also to their hometowns.
It was estimated in 2003 that migrant workers from Anhui Province remitted 30 billion yuan, more than the yearly revenue for the entire province. Such money can be used to improve standards of living in rural areas, to provide better schools, infrastructure and services. However, migrants are somehow segregated from the areas they move to. Hukou, Chinaʼs traditional system of household registration, divides people into rural and urban categories: those from rural areas are automatically placed outside of the urban system and its services (although reform of this system is currently being considered by the government). Migrant workers are widely regarded as second- rate citizens, with fewer rights. Due to difficulties obtaining residency permits they have no social security and access to health and education systems is restricted. Furthermore, a recent study on the structure of social classes in China has placed industrial workers as eighth out of a rank of ten. The group that in Maoist times was highly respected, seen as commanders of Chinese society, now occupies the bottom of the social hierarchy in the nationʼs consciousness. Li Zhen, director of the Cultural and Communication Centre for Facilitators, an NGO in Beijing working to empower and raise awareness of migrant workers, asserts that ʻevery building and every road contains migrant workersʼ contributionsʼ. These people have, in fact, been the driving force behind Chinaʼs recent development success story, and deserve to be recognised as such.
Li Qun Fan and his brother in -law after work at the new University Zone in Dalian. They were amongst about 100 people living in the unfinished rooms at the site.
Travelling from the countryside to work in the cities, most construction workers come in groups from the same family or neighbourhood. Each team has a leader who will find out about available work and organise the workers to complete the tasks requested by the construction companies. Accommodation for most workers is provided in temporary dormitories on or near to the work site: about 10 people will share one room in which they eat, rest and sleep. Others may occupy the buildings they are working in, sleeping in the unfinished rooms of apartment blocks and schools.
Pei Xian village, Jiangsu Province. The village is famous for its apples, here being boxed up ready to sell at market. Most of the young men from this region travel to urban areas to work in construction.
On average a construction worker in China earns 60 - 70 yuan ($8 – 9) per day. Most workers rarely take time off as they are paid at the end of the project or when their particular job is finished. Wage discrepancies are common as the system of contracting labour in the construction industry is frequently informal. In 1984 the State Council issued a decree to cease the employment of workers with a fixed contract (except highly-skilled technical operators), a move away from the Iron Rice Bowl to short-term and labour-only contracting. Conditions in Beijing are somewhat more improved than in other cities, for example a measure has recently been put in place to issue migrant construction workers with multi-functional ID cards. This aims to limit discrepancies over wage payments and permit access to insurance.
Provisions for construction workers at Olympic Park are to be praised, with a library and outdoor cinema amongst other available services. However the story is somewhat different beyond the capital. It is without a doubt that the rights and interests of construction workers in China need to be promoted and provided for in order to better acknowledge the work they are doing for their country. Although both their living and working conditions need greatly improving, so too does the understanding of this sector by the urban society that they are contributing to. It is important too, for those from other countries to see and begin to appreciate the realities facing people in todayʼs China. Despite being away from their homes and families, a strong sense of community develops among the people living and working on Chinaʼs construction sites. I think this is something we can all relate to, despite our own backgrounds and prejudices.
Feng Qiang and Wang Ming Gui were waiting in Nanjing for a week for payment and without work before they could return home to their families in Sichuan Province. They spent the days fishing and exploring the area near their work-site.