Serving migrant workers: A challenging public service issue in China

Abstract

The results of the latest census disclose that there are more than 260 million mobile people among the total population of 1.34 billion in China. Among them, about 150 million are migrant workers. Due to the notorious household registration system (hukou) and the entrenched rural-urban divide, access by migrant workers to public services provided by city governments is normally denied. Compared with their urban counterparts, migrant workers find it difficult to gain equal access to employment, social security and other public services. Though the central government has promised to provide public services to migrant workers, including employment services and training, compulsory education for their children, disease prevention and control, and improvement in housing conditions, providing public services to migrant workers poses a big challenge for both receiving and sending regions. Based on a survey of migrant workers and government officials conducted in 2009 in Guangzhou, one of the key receiving cities of migrant workers, this article examines migrant workers' needs for, and knowledge of, public services. It also reviews current policy responses and service provision mechanisms of both the receiving and sending regions, and tries to evaluate the gap between the service needs of migrant workers and governments' provision of services, and to explore more effective ways to satisfy needs through enhanced cooperation and coordination among government departments and non-governmental organisations. © 2012 The Author. Australian Journal of Public Administration © 2012 National Council of the Institute of Public Administration Australia.