They are also Parents They Are Also Parents - A Study on Migrant Workers | Page 12

CCR CSR | A Study on Migrant Workers with Left-behind Children in China | August 2013
CCR CSR | A Study on Migrant Workers with Left-behind Children in China | August 2013
concerned with the following target groups:
with them, preferring instead to keep the children in nearby hometowns and
to visit on a frequent basis.
• Parents of migrant children: migrant workers who live with their children in
cities and industrial zones.
The research methodology involved a combination of literature review,
• Parents of left-behind children: migrant workers who leave their children in
their hometowns.
questionnaires, case interviews, and focus groups to guarantee valid and
comprehensive results. A total of 1518 valid questionnaire surveys were
• Young migrant workers: young generation workers who do not have
children.
collected from the migrant workers over June and July 2013, with the
emphasis on the parents of left-behind children (50%), parents of migrant
• Brand representatives from big multinational companies. children (30%) and a sample of young migrant workers (20%). In addition,
• Managers of Chinese supply factories. a series of in-depth interviews was held with 16 migrant workers and 25
managers from multinational companies and supply chain factories to better
1.3 Research methodology
understand workers’ actual circumstances and the companies’ current
perspective on the issue. The researchers also conducted interviews with 20
The research was conducted in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) and Chongqing,
providing an opportunity for cross-regional comparison. Each area developed
under different circumstances – PRD as the seat of Special Economic Zones
and China’s earliest manufacturing center, and Chongqing as a municipality set
left-behind children and their guardians in rural Chongqing.
Figure 1: No. of interviews from different regions and groups
Region Parents of left-behind Parents of migrant Non-parent
children
children
migrant workers Total
Chongqing 286 72 98 456
PRD 591 281 190 1062
Total 877 353 288 1518
to drive the economic growth of the poorer western areas – and as such, each
has a unique set of policies and its own approach towards migrant workers.
The Pearl River Delta traditionally attracted large numbers of migrants, and
has since 2001 employed a ‘point-based’ system, allowing those with higher
education and professional skills to qualify for local hukou registration. The
number of workers actually able to transfer their hukou and to qualify for The research process emphasized a multi-stakeholder perspective and on
public services has however remained low. June 7, 2013, the researchers held a launch meeting in Zhuhai attended by
representatives of brands, suppliers, factory management, migrant children
On the other hand, Chongqing has aimed for a more ‘balanced’ urban schools, and migrant workers. The participants in the meeting provided
development capable of accommodating its vast rural population. As such, valuable input to the research outline and the questionnaire.
the migrant workers are often able to transfer their hukou following 3-5
years of stable employment, and have a relatively easier access to a range of
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services, including cheaper public housing and access to schooling
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. Despite
In cooperation with a consultancy partner – Elevate – the research team has
also organized a ‘Photo-Voice’ exercise for a group of 20 migrant workers,
the innovative policies, however, our research team found that in reality the coaching them in basic photography skills, and over the following weeks
workers faced a number of obstacles when trying to enroll their children in guiding the workers to document their lives and tell their stories with the help
local schools and that ultimately, very few migrant parents took their children of photography. The range of visual story-telling which followed, has added
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