Blue Collar Boost

by Ni Junchen

Soon after Spring Festival， Chinas biggest annual holiday， many cities once again suffered a labor shortage as they have for several consecutive years. Greater numbers of scholars and journalists sounded alarms： When excess “subsistence” labor is fully absorbed into the modern sector， an era of labor shortage dawns – the “Lewis Turning Point” named for economist Arthur Lewis model.

He Zhongzhou， who holds a degree in Chinese language， would have little interest in such economic terms if not for his passion for public welfare. As a veteran journalist， He has heard many stories about rural laborers working in urban areas. This labor de- mographic has increased exponentially over the past few years， as more and more set off from rural areas with big dreams accented by fear. After many years working in media， He walked away in 2011 to prepare to launch a non-governmental organization， Blue Collars Co-operatives （BCC）， aiming at helping workers in Dongguan， Guangdong Province， a hotbed for migrant workers.

He named his organization “Blue” after the color of the suit that the first group of migrant workers wore in the wake of Chinas implementation of economic reform and opening-up policies， and such workers are classified as “blue collar” in English. As secretary-general， He hopes to provide migrants training， education， and employment， as well as negotiation help and support for protection of their rights.

What Is Needed？

Chinas official statistics count 250 million migrant workers across the country. “They serve as the backbone of Chinas rise and an engine to change the world，” many declare. “What specifically do they need most？”

This is the fundamental issue for Hes organization. “I think blue-collar workers want to see hope and opportunity，” he asserts.“The best solution available today in China is education. I dont want to see them treated as machines like in Chaplins Modern Times. Education and enlightenment can pave the way to sustainable life. BCCs work in the Pearl River Delta in southern China is trying to blaze new paths for civilian education by devising courses that address true needs of the populace.”

BCC has registered two subsidiaries： Dongguan Blue Suit Public Welfare Service Center and Shenzhen Workers Service Center， both of which specialize in exploring training programs in industrial districts and factories. “Such training can help workers find more opportunity in life and employment by putting their weaknesses in check and highlighting their strengths，” He explains.

He Zhongzhou believes that the biggest challenge for BCC relates to the national identity of blue collar workers. “A decade ago， people had contempt for farmers， but today the public is more sympathetic because they realize how much migrant workers have contributed to the countrys industrial and economic progress，” He illustrates. “Their poverty and weaknesses resulted from previous institutional arrangements.”

Apparently， many years of work await before the true situation these workers face can be fully uncovered. “BCC aims to explore alternative lifestyles for them，” He reveals. “We havent yet found the right term for such a lifestyle， but we know many related concepts such as ‘ground floor， ‘equality， and ‘fairness. We need to create a social atmosphere characterized by humanistic feelings for young workers.”

A Long Way to Go

In 2005， Chinas manifestation of the Lewis Turning Point began to draw attention from the media. Using his journalistic instincts， He Zhongzhou predicted that the labor shortage would become a hot topic， and he was right. “For workers， the day has come to trade their labor for their needs，” He insists.

BCC started at employment. In 2011， the staff launched a campaign to find jobs for 300 unemployed workers collectively using a designed scheme： collecting contact information， building trust， securing many positions with the same company， and allowing time for continual study aside from work. Meanwhile， BCC joined hands with H.R. departments and labor service centers， dispatching someone to visit each organization to assist with management and training during their spare time.

This was the primary function of BCC in its early days： introducing employees to companies， but this model encountered a roadblock after Spring Festival 2012 because as a new comer to the South， the organization found it difficult to win trust from companies. BCC then shifted its operation back towards a more traditional public welfare model and sought support from various foundations. At the same time， it refocused from splitting time between work and study to promoting community education and training in industrial districts.

BCC dropped anchor in Dongguans Sangyuan Industrial District where it could dive deeper into community education along with its traditional civilian training. It was not easy to attract support from the local community at first. The endeavor met conflict before understanding， acceptance， and cooperation. “We are certainly well accepted today，” grins He Zhongzhou.

Funding for the organization primarily depends on the government and enterprises aside from a few internal fund-generation mechanisms. BCC applied to launch two projects， “Dreams of Assembly Lines” and “Mobile Library，” during the citys first public welfare campaign. Dreams of Assembly Lines aimed to offer training classes for workers during their spare time， while the Mobile Library was a plan to establish a roving library capable of catering to 10，000 to 50，000 workers. The budgets were calculated to the cent， with precision as part of the spirit of BCC.

Although both of the projects were rejected， BCC didnt take a break from other projects. Its last completed endeavor provided office and policy support for ten promising social organizations in Dongguan NGO Incubation Center， which was founded by the municipal Civil Affairs Department.

A blue collar bridge between the cities of Dongguan and Shenzhen has been raised， lifting its commuters to new heights.