The Fate of Chinese Workers: Workers' Social Action Since Reform

Author: Feng Tongqing / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-02-01
Features:
1. An Empirical Study on the Status of Workers This book is an empirical study. Based on data from multiple questionnaire and interview surveys conducted during China's current period of social transformation, it examines workers' social actions to illustrate the changes in their status and provides theoretical and empirical explanations for the expected improvement in their status. Alternatively, it describes the evolution of workers' fate during China's current period of social transformation and predicts future trends in their fate.
2. The Concept of Workers In mainland China, "worker" was once a broad concept, often synonymous with "staff." In enterprises, it included everything from factory directors, technicians, and general managers to operating workers, and so on. With the deepening of market-oriented reforms, enterprise staff have undergone social differentiation. The workers studied in this book refer to those who distinguish themselves from enterprise managers, operators, technicians, and general managers.
3. Workers' Social Actions Workers' social actions refer to their agency—their process of doing things. This process involves the extent to which actors understand why they act in a certain way, especially when they are not consciously aware of it (i.e., when they cannot articulate it in discourse form) or lack such awareness in other contexts. In short, it is the actions taken by actors based on their cognitive abilities. The workers' social actions studied in this book are those since the reform. More accurately, they are the reactions of workers to the reform as reflected in their social actions.
4. Workers' Fate Workers' fate refers to the changes in their status and the fluctuations in their life activities. These changes are constrained by institutional factors, which affect the choices available to workers and what they desire from these choices. However, workers participate in shaping the world that constrains them, even within these constraints. As social actors, their motivations and reasons for acting are effective in making institutional constraints relevant. The changes in workers' status or their life activities are predictable. The workers' fate studied in this book is the changes in their status and life activities since the reform. Now, more than two years have passed since then, and the above arguments still seem to have some explanatory power.
Last summer, the leadership of a large state-owned military industrial enterprise in the south discussed the current situation of the company with the author. They talked about the continuity of tradition in the new context. Due to reasons such as debt conversion and increased military orders, the company's performance has improved. However, some historically accumulated problems have not been fully resolved. Recently, some retired elderly workers (including both veteran cadres and veteran workers) have once again gone out onto the streets. The author asked him about the prospects for solving these workers' issues. He replied as follows:
"The essence of your question lies in how we view the nature of the enterprise after the emergence of workers' social issues. For us, the enterprise is now an economic organization, but it cannot be seen as merely an economic organization. To this day, we still believe that the enterprise is at the forefront of reform, a small society, a political bastion, and even a multimedia platform and an alloy steel."
This is also an important background for judging whether workers' status can be maintained.
3. Self-Reliance Leads to Improved Status Another situation is that workers' sense of self-respect is elevated to an economic need, and through self-reliance, their status is improved again. Some scholars argue that in today's society, the survival value of self-respect is becoming increasingly significant. With the development of history, self-respect, which has always been considered a very important psychological need, has also evolved into a very important economic need. To adapt to an increasingly complex, challenging, and competitive world, people must have a sense of self-respect. With the advancement of enterprise reform, the sense of self-respect of some Chinese workers has also evolved into an economic need. Moreover, the pursuit of this economic need has made them self-reliant and improved their status.
(1) Self-reliance Inspired by the System Within the book, it has been mentioned many times that state-owned enterprises within the original planned system received special protection. Naturally, this protection also benefited workers. Since the reform, these enterprises have faced severe challenges, and the special protection for workers has gradually diminished. In this context, can workers within the system adapt? If they do, what is their potential? General discussions are pessimistic. In fact, the statistics mentioned earlier have shown that the following case studies also demonstrate that a portion of workers in these enterprises still maintain a sense of self-respect and elevate it into an economic need, embarking on a path of self-reliance.
In the autumn of 1994 and the spring of 1995, the author conducted two investigations into state-owned enterprises in Liuzhou, Guangxi. In a shipbuilding military enterprise, the author was surprised to see brand-new workshops, workers' dormitories, and welfare facilities. In most depressed military enterprises, this was rare. When asked about the reasons, there were many factors, but the role of workers' self-respect and self-reliance was significant. For example, in 1990, production tasks were severely insufficient. The factory leadership went to great lengths, reveal the difficulties at the workers' congress and seek advice from the workers. The workers' representatives said:
"This year, the factory leadership should no longer propose that bonuses be no lower than last year's level. As long as we have food to eat, we will share the fate of the enterprise."
Most workers' representatives agreed, and there was unity between the top and bottom. This was the most difficult year for the factory, yet it was also the year when the workforce was most stable and when the enterprise broke through difficulties and achieved glory. The workers' self-respect and self-reliance played a very key role. However, the reason why workers could be self-respecting and self-reliant was that their dignity was respected in the enterprise. For example, the factory implemented many labor system reform plans, and the implementation was relatively smooth, with few "sticking points."
For instance, the implementation of the wage reform plan was fully discussed among the workers, and opinions were repeatedly sought. Even frontline workers said, "It can be implemented now. The leadership has seriously considered our opinions." The reform plan was pushed forward under the urging of the workers' representatives, truly "when the water reaches the channel, the melon ripens and the falls." As a result, workers' self-respect and self-reliance evolved into an economic need for the development of the enterprise.
In the winter of 1997, the author visited a shipbuilding military enterprise in Liaoning and witnessed the same phenomenon. Due to a decline in military orders, the company had to find ways to take on civilian products. Civilian shipbuilding products had limited domestic market demand and had to be exported. They accepted an order from Germany, and the German businessman's demands were almost harsh. When the products entered the acceptance stage, the Germans appeared. Wherever the workers were working, the Germans pointed out flaws. Some workers repeatedly redid the work, but the Germans repeatedly refused to approve it. The Chinese managers nearby felt they could not take it anymore and worried that the workers would come into conflict with the Germans. However, no conflict occurred. For several days, after work, when they saw the Germans were not present, the workers embraced and cried. Among them, a sentence quietly circulated:
"Blood and sweat, no tears; shed skin, but never fall behind."
Ultimately, the Germans gave their approval and even patted the Chinese workers on the back. This scene happened several years before our investigation, but people still mentioned it from time to time during the investigation, expressing pride in the self-respect and self-reliance of the Chinese workers.
When we visited this factory, the business situation had improved, civilian product development had made breakthroughs, and military orders had also increased. When talking about the workers' self-respect and self-reliance in this factory, it was not an accident. For example, the plan to downsize and transfer workers was discussed at the workers' congress multiple times, and even the workers and trade union believed it was acceptable, but the factory director still had to consider it.
Another example is that the factory director proposed that workers bear a portion of their medical expenses. The workers and trade union calculated that the factory would save over 100,000 yuan annually due to this. Later, they discussed with the factory director whether the hospital could save this amount by strengthening management and strict accounting. The factory director thought it was feasible and no longer insisted on workers bearing medical expenses.
The workers said, "The enterprise has us in mind, and we have the enterprise in mind." In short, workers' self-respect and self-reliance evolved into an economic need for the development of the enterprise in this way.
(2) Self-Reliance Towards the Outside of the System If some enterprises within the system no longer exist, how can self-respect and self-reliance evolve? If the enterprise is truly failing, workers' choices begin to move outside the system. Sometimes, the decline of the enterprise is linked to the decline of the industry. If that is the case, it is simply irreparable.
A 1982 survey of Daqing Oilfield reflected that some workers hoped to take on jobs. A fourth-level pipe worker said, "Honestly, I only put in about 80% of my effort in this job. If I could take on all the work myself, I could put my full effort into it." Unable to fulfill his wish, he often had mood swings. A third-level driver said, "I'm not envious of those above me, nor do I feel inferior to those below me. With my driving skills and age, where would I not be able to go? I've been transferred several times, but I'm still not satisfied." These workers' dissatisfaction is now understood, but at the time, they were criticized.
A 1982 survey in Wuxi, Jiangsu reflected that a few technically skilled and capable retired workers in the Wuxi Textile Mill's various factories were "beyond the control of the factory and the streets." In the Xixin factory, 118 people were privately hired without approval, accounting for 15.25% of retired workers. According to the statistics reported by 53 retired workers hired by village and team enterprises, the average monthly income per person was 72.35 yuan. Some also received monthly bonuses, year-end bonuses, meal allowances, guidance fees, and activity fees. At the time, these workers' actions were considered private hiring, using improper means to earn high salaries, corrupting the worker ranks, affecting factory stability, and polluting social customs. The proposed solutions were to persist in education, differentiate treatment, attach importance to the issue throughout the party, strengthen management, and curb this negative trend. Some of the workers hired were confused and asked, "Why, under the same state, provincial, municipal, and bureau leadership, others are not restricted, but we are restricted from privately hiring and earning high salaries?"
In reality, the hiring of retired workers by village and team enterprises was already quite common, making effective control difficult. Similar things also happened in other places. A survey of Datong Coal Mine Bureau in Shanxi reflected that some people were eager to make extra money by "chasing external business." Some did haircuts, took photos, took on business, did trades, or transported coal. In the Administrative College canteen, all skilled chefs took on wedding banquets, charging 1.8–2 yuan in manual labor for each table. At the time, these behaviors were criticized, but they were also difficult to stop.