Chen Jiashun:At the People’s Service

By staff reporter DANG XIAOFEI

BEFORE taking up the position of deputy director of the Bureau of Human Resources and Social Security of Qujing City in Yunnan Province， Chen Jiashun worked in many enterprises in the guise of a migrant worker. He has consequently worked at loading and unloading goods， as warehouseman， even swineherd. His purpose was to acquaint himself with the actual conditions under which migrant workers are employed and so be better equipped to help them find suitable jobs， as well as to resolve various disputes between them and their employers.

Learning on the Job

“I had no better choice than to pretend to be a migrant worker if I wanted to learn about the workers real needs，”Chen said.

Owing to insufficient job opportunities， the local government of Zhanyi County of Qujing City made labor export a pillar industry. Chen Jiashun， then deputy director of the Bureau of Human Resources and Social Security of Zhanyi County， successively led seven batches of local farmers to find jobs in areas of the Pearl River Delta. But more than 80 percent returned to their hometown after working for short periods.

To figure out the reason for this and experience the actual conditions of migrant workers daily lives， as regards eating， accommodation， payment， and hours of work， Chen sought manual work at five enterprises.

In September 2008， Chen got a job with an animal husbandry company in Yiwu City of Zhejiang Province. He was assigned to taking care of sick pigs. Every day he would first clean out pig manure and then deal with the dead pigs. The smell made him vomit， and unable to eat， even though he wore a mask at work. But Chen never gave up.

“After doing the job for a period of time， I found it stable with reasonable working hours， and not too intense， and so suitable for senior farmers without professional skills in need of a stable source of income，” Chen said. He later recommended 14 senior couples from his county as workers for that company.

In the past five years， he has personally inspected and coordinated with more than 680 enterprises， and recommended more than 10，000 farmers to them as workers. Only five percent quit their jobs and returned.

Safeguard the Rights of Migrant Workers

When Chen led migrant workers to find jobs in Yiwu City， he also helped to settle 1，000 or more labor disputes， so recouping losses worth nearly RMB 2 million. At that time， migrant workers in Yiwu would immediately go to Chen whenever they encountered difficulties， because he was always available.

Feng Shuie and Ding Donghua from Zhanyi County quit their jobs at a small garment factory after working there three months， but the employer withheld a substantial portion of their wages. Chen visited the factory and went to a lot of trouble to meet the manager， who went as far as to warn him not to interfere with the dispute. However， Chen still did his best to convince him： “They deserve what they have earned，” he said. Eventually， the factory manager paid Feng and Ding the RMB 3，700 he had previously retained from their wages.

Hu Jiajiang from Dapo Township of Qujing City accidently injured his left hand while operating a machine at work， but received no compensation from the employer. After studying the situation， Chen negotiated twice with Hus supervisor， and even made an overseas call to the manager， who was on a business trip to the U.S. The two sides finally reached agreement on compensation.

In March of 2014， after Chen had been promoted to deputy director of the Bureau of Human Resources and Social Security of Qujing City， he remained devoted to safeguarding the rights and interests of migrant workers. “It was difficult to collect evidence and exercise law enforcement in areas outside Qujing，”Chen said. To solve this problem， Chen promoted the signing of a cooperation action plan with human resources and social security bureaus in the six regions where most migrant workers from Qujing were employed， so to better safeguard their lawful rights.

Chen also appointed staff to the task of keeping in touch with migrant workers to ascertain their needs. He might then communicate and coordinate with leaders of the other six bureaus to deal with situations that arose and settle disputes. “This is much better， because now I can help our workers just by making a few calls，” Chen said.

Provide Jobs Locally

In February 2013， Chen was transferred to the post of vice director of the Investment Invitation Bureau of Qujing in Suzhou City in the Yangtze River Delta. The focus of his work thus shifted from helping farmers find jobs and safeguarding their rights to attracting investment.

During his time in Suzhou， Chen visited more than 60 enterprises. He realized that Chinas private enterprises indeed faced many difficulties. “My focus now is more on finding a balance between migrant workers and enterprises， and giving equal attention to the rights and interests of both sides，” Chen said.

This work experience in Suzhou also made clear to Chen that efforts should be made to create local job opportunities in Qujing. Farmers might then find sufficient work in their hometown to support and take care of their family members.

Through his efforts， two enterprises set up factories in Qujing. One is the Dadi Electric Co.， Ltd. of Nantong City， Jiangsu Province， which created nearly 200 jobs. The other is a Shenzhen enterprise that grows vegetables and breeds mudfish. It mainly employs women villagers whose husbands work out of the region， and provides as many as 150 jobs in the busy season.

Chen is now focusing on poverty alleviation. “We are implementing a project to help rural residents find jobs in other， more economically developed areas， to help them shake off poverty. We plan to export 600，000 workers in five years，”Chen said.

Take Care of “Left-Bhind”Children and Seniors

Dong Ya， a pupil at Baishapo Elementary School in Lingjiao Township of Zhanyi County， looks forward to seeing Chen Jiashun every month when he visits the school， because he brings snacks and stationery. Her parents are working in Zhejiang Province and only return home once a year.

When she particularly misses her parents， Dong Ya makes a video call to them.“Our school provides a toll-free phone for students to call their parents at noon or in the evening after class，” Dong said. “There are also two computers that we can use to make video calls to our parents.”

The funds obtained from the local government for such equipment are through Chens efforts. “If young parents need to go elsewhere to work， the government should pay extra attention to their children and parents，” Chen said. He has also suggested establishing a mechanism in this regard.

Moreover， Chen also actively coordinates with public welfare organizations to help left-behind children. For example， he jointly launched with the Love from the Pearl River Public Welfare Organization an activity to donate books and clothes to Baishapo Elementary School. He has also invited volunteers to give psychological consultation at local schools.

In Jiaonika Village， China Today saw many fine free-standing houses. “It only costs around RMB 200，000 to build such a house， and around RMB 400，000 for one in a favorable location，” Chen said. “Normally a couple can earn RMB 60，000 a year if they work away.” But the number of left-behind seniors grows when the family gets rich， Chen added. Among the total 20 or more households in the village， nine are occupied by leftbehind eleders. Last year， he helped to raise funds and materials worth RMB 800，000 to help such senior citizens.

Chen helped to equip each household in which left-behind seniors live with a cell phone with a prepaid fee of RMB 300， to make it convenient for them to contact their children. Chen also often brings them daily necessities according to their needs. In addition， he appointed a contact person in each village to monitor these elders needs and ensure their wellbeing.