Fang Lan Employment of Migrant Workers Is Essential for Poverty Alleviation

by Zhou Xin

The COVID-19 epidemic that broke out in early 2020 has greatly impacted the Chinese economy. Agriculture is the foundation of economic development， disturbance of which has the potential to affect the overall economic situation. Fang Lan， a deputy to the National Peoples Congress （NPC）， Chinas top legislature， and vice president of the Northwest Institute of Historical Environment and Socio-Economic Development of Shaanxi Normal University， pays close attention to the impact of the outbreak on rural areas in China.

This year is the final year for China to accomplish the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects. Fang believes that the re-employment of migrant workers is extremely important for the battle against poverty.“The resumption of production， especially for downstream enterprises， directly determines whether migrant workers will obtain jobs and incomes.”

The total number of migrant workers in China has reached 290 million， 170 million of whom work in places other than home， and about 75 million of whom are trans-provincial laborers. The epidemic breaks the flow of migrant workers and directly cuts off their sources of income.

Employment has a direct bearing on peoples livelihoods. At a symposium on securing a decisive victory in poverty alleviation， Chinese President Xi Jinping， also general secretary of the Communist Party of China （CPC） Central Committee， stressed that Chinas battle against poverty is in the final push， and that the country must consolidate and advance the results on the basis of poverty reduction efforts， stabilize employment of migrant workers， and effectively prevent migrant workers from losing their jobs and falling back into poverty due to the negative effects of the epidemic.

“Governments at all levels， communities and even organizations offering ‘pairing-up assistanceare all working hard to help migrant workers get back to work in an orderly manner，” said Fang.

Chinas State Council has rolled out concrete measures to facilitate non-local employment， local or nearby employment， and employment of impoverished laborers amid the epidemic. The government provided“point-to-point” transportation services for migrant workers to help them return to work in an orderly manner. As of May 18， this practice had helped 6.02 million migrant workers from rural areas get back to their posts， 1.52 million of whom were impoverished people， accounting for 25.2 percent of the total.