Exposé sur les conditions de travail en Chine

ANGLAIS         Les conditions de travail en chine

We have always known that working conditions in China are difficult, whether it is excessive working hours, low pay or precarious living conditions.  However, working conditions in China have undergone a real transformation in recent decades.

Today, China continues to evolve, implementing stricter employment laws and raising wages to improve employee well-being.

BEFORE

Working conditions in China have undergone many changes over the decades, influenced by economic, political and social factors.

We can segment these changes into 3 main parts :

1) The Maoist period (1949 – 1978)

Mao Zedong was China's revolutionary leader and the founder of the People's Republic of China. He led the Chinese Communist Party to victory over the Nationalists in 1949. He introduced radical politics such as the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution to transform China as a socialist society, but often at the price of serious economic and social crises. 

When Mao Zedong was in power, he established :

• The egalitarianism : Wage differences between workers were minimal.
• The mass production : Work was organized in production brigades in the countryside and in state enterprises in the city.
• The rudimentary conditions : often difficult with basic equipment and limited safety conditions
• The absence of unemployment : everyone had a job, even if they were not always productive or well paid

2) The Deng Xiaoping period (1978 – 1990)

In 1927, Deng Xiaoping joined the Communist revolution conducted by Mao Zedong. He participe to the purge of 1952 ordered by Mao against people who his critics him. During the Cultural Revolution of 1968, he was exiled, considered like a dangerous capitalist.

After Mao Zedong’s death, he took power and directed China’s affairs between 1978 and 1992. He modernized the country and opened it up to the outside world. It was he who introduced the one child policy.

Deng Xiaoping has :

• Introduced the market economy, he has opened up china to the world market and encouraged foreign investment
• Allowed the rural urban migration, millions of workets have abandoned rural regions to find work in urban regions and economic zones
• Contributed to increasing inequality, the reforms introduced by Deng Xiaoping have accentuated inequalities in wages and working conditions between different regions.

3) The 90’s (1990 – 2000)

From 1990, we have seen an expansion in manufacturing, with China becoming « The World’s factory ».

Working conditions became more and more difficult as workers, often internal migrants including children, endured long working hours, low wages and poor living conditions in factory dormitories.

Finally, these migrants endured health and safety problems, with work-accidents and professional diseases being commonplace due to bad legislation and a lack of safety measures.

TODAY 

Today, working conditions in China have evolved with efforts to improve working standards and workers' rights.

...