Die Veranderung der Lebens- und Arbeitsbedingungen chinesischer Wanderarbeiterinnen und ihre Auswirkungen auf Arbeitskonflikte [The Evolving Conditions of Chinese Migrant Factory Workers and the Effects on Labour Disputes: An Introduction]

A rapidly increasing number of migrant workers no longer can be considered as rural residents temporarily away from home. Many millions have begun settling permanently into urban settings. Before the mid-2000s, young workers from the countryside were employed only temporarily in urban factories. They were miserably paid and exploited. But times are changing. Today’s workers from the countryside are better informed, better connected and have more long-term expectations. As restrictions against residing in cities have relaxed, they are not as vulnerable as they were in previous decades, and as labor shortages have begun to develop, they cannot so easily be replaced by employers. The nature of labor disputes at private and foreign owned factories is changing as a consequence of all of these factors.