Put an end to Foxconn's tragedy and solve the problem of the new generation of migrant workers

Yesterday, Lu Huilin and nine sociologists from Tsinghua, Peking University and other universities urgently sent a joint letter, calling on all parties to join hands to solve the problem of the new generation of migrant workers as soon as possible and prevent the Foxconn tragedy from repeating itself.

The following is the full text of the joint letter:

Since 1 month this year, there have been 9 incidents of employees jumping off buildings in Foxconn Group, resulting in 7 deaths and 2 injuries. Why do these 20-year-olds choose to leave this world at the best time of their lives? The passing of life makes us sad, and it also makes us think about the "world factory" and the future of the new generation of migrant workers at the individual psychological level.

Over the past three decades, China has built an export-oriented "world factory" by relying on hundreds of millions of cheap laborers mainly from rural areas, and achieved sustained and rapid economic growth in China. But at the same time, workers' basic right to subsistence has been neglected for a long time: we use the identity of "migrant workers" as an excuse to pay their labor remuneration at a level lower than the average wage of the third world, so that they cannot settle in cities, wander between cities and rural areas, and live a dignified life without roots, helplessness, family separation, unattended parents and unattended children. From the tragedy in Foxconn, we heard the cries of the new generation of migrant workers with their lives, warning the whole society to reflect on this development model at the expense of human basic dignity.

We call on the country to immediately put an end to the development model at the expense of basic human dignity.

When some industries in China occupy more and more market share at the low end of the global industrial chain, we notice the widening gap between the rich and the poor, which coexists with GDP growth, and the social fact that the labor price is depressed with the employment pressure and the workers' right to speak is continuously ignored. If it is said that the development of export-oriented economy by using cheap labor is the strategic choice of China in the early stage of reform under the constraints of historical conditions such as lack of funds, then today, this development strategy has exposed various drawbacks. Low labor income leads to long-term low domestic consumption demand, which weakens the internal driving force of China's sustained economic growth. The tragedy at Foxconn shows that this development model is unsustainable from the perspective of workers. For many new generation migrant workers, from the moment they left home, they never thought of going home to be farmers like their parents. In this regard, they embarked on a road of no return to work in the city. When you can't see the possibility of working in the city, the meaning of work collapses, the way forward is blocked, and the way back has long been blocked. The identity of the new generation of migrant workers caught in this situation is in a serious crisis, which has brought a series of psychological and emotional problems-this is the deep social and structural reason we see behind Foxconn employees' "no return".

We believe that development sustained by "low human rights advantage" is unsustainable. Today's China has sufficient capital and strong national strength, and has the conditions and ability to change its development model. Relying on the joint efforts of the state, enterprises and laborers, we can effectively solve the problem of the new generation of migrant workers, which will effectively prevent similar tragedies from happening again.

We call on all enterprises to make practical efforts to improve the treatment and rights of migrant workers and make them real "corporate citizens". Foxconn Group has developed rapidly since 1988 established its factory in Shenzhen, China. Factories are located in the Pearl River Delta, Yangtze River Delta, Bohai Rim and the central and western regions, with more than 600,000 employees. Foxconn has become the world's largest manufacturer of electronic products, the global OEM king, ranked 109 among the world's top 500 enterprises, and ranked first among Chinese mainland's export enterprises for seven consecutive years. Foxconn today is inseparable from the hard work and sweat of the vast number of migrant workers. As an industry leader who emphasizes corporate social responsibility, gives back to society and cares for employees, Foxconn should give workers dignified wages, create basic material conditions for them to live a normal and dignified life, and make migrant workers become real "corporate citizens".

We call on local governments to provide policy guarantees for the social needs of migrant workers such as housing, education and medical care, so that migrant workers can become real "community citizens".

The treatment and dignity of migrant workers is not limited to an enterprise, but a common China problem. The biggest obstacles for migrant workers to settle in cities are housing, children's education and medical care. We call on the state and local governments to take practical measures to create conditions for migrant workers to integrate and take root in cities, so that they can become real "community citizens" and share the fruits of their own economic development. As an experimental area of reform, the rise of Shenzhen is inseparable from the hard work of tens of millions of migrant workers. At the end of 2008, the actual population of Shenzhen exceeded120,000, of which the registered population was only 2.28 million. It is the contribution of migrant workers that makes Shenzhen prosperous today. As the beneficiary of the reform, the Shenzhen Municipal Government should improve the living conditions of migrant workers and come up with specific solutions for their housing, education and medical care. After becoming the leader of economic development in the1980s, it will once again strive to become a model of social development and social justice in the new century.

Finally, we call on the new generation of migrant workers to cherish their own lives, cherish each other's lives, respond to the plight of today's workers in a positive way, strive for basic labor rights and interests, and protect the right to survival of themselves and their families. Unite and help each other like brothers and sisters, and improve the ability of self-help, self-protection and self-management. Participate in the great cause of promoting social progress with all walks of life and build a harmonious society in which every worker can live with dignity.

Signature:

Professor Shen Yuan, Department of Sociology, Tsinghua University

Professor, Department of Sociology, Tsinghua University, Guo Yuhua

Lu Huilin, Associate Professor of Sociology, Peking University.

Associate Professor, Department of Applied Social Sciences, Panyi University of Technology

Dai Jianzhong, researcher of Beijing Academy of Social Sciences.

Tan Shen, Associate Research Fellow, Institute of Sociology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

Shen Hong is a researcher at the Institute of Sociology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Ren Yan, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, Sun Yat-sen University

Professor Zhang Dunfu, Department of Sociology, Shanghai University

20 10 may 18