Yu Jinlan, a worker in Qitaihe City, Heilongjiang Province, was laid off from her job several years ago. At that time, both her husband and son got ill and could not go to work. For a time, she lost all confidence and found it hard to get on with her life. In August 2001, Yu Jinlan obtained a non-interest loan from the municipal trade union council and launched a small dryer plant. Under the care of the trade union, her plant kept expanding. Today, her plant is raking in millions of yuan for her. Equally important, she has hired five laid-off workers.
In recent years, trade unions in northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province have helped more than 130,000 laid-off workers get back to work by various means at their disposal. For instance, trade unions in the province have raised 63 million and helped 70,000 laid-off workers start their own business.
The following stories could be seen as an epitome of the tremendous efforts trade unions have made in promoting reemployment.
Job Creation
At present, China is confronted with enormous employment pressure. Helping more laid-off workers get back to work and pulling them out of poverty is a tough task lying ahead of Chinese trade unions. In recent years, trade unions throughout the country have worked out various measures to create employment.
The Heilongjiang Provincial Trade Union Federation has called for reemployment bases to be built to absorb laid-off workers. In response, the Shuangyashan Municipal Trade Union Council has started up a poultry farm to create employment for laid-off workers and established laid-off workers in business by offering loans and creating preferential policies for them.
Over the past few years, the Shuangyashan Municipal Trade Union Council has handed out 230, 000 yuan to laid-off workers to help finance start-ups. So far, the trade union has set up 45 demonstration poultry farms employing 420 laid-off workers. By the end of last year, the Heilongjiang Provincial Trade Union Federation built 330 reemployment bases across the province finding jobs for 22,000 laid-off workers.
In 2000, the Hubei Provincial Trade Union Federation launched its first reemployment base with a capital of 700,000 yuan. Up to now, it has set up three such bases finding jobs for more than 2,000 laid-off workers. Reemployment bases run by trade unions at lower levels have also seen considerable development. The fish farm by set up the Huanggang Municipal Trade Union Council employs 50 laid-off workers and is netting 2 million yuan a year. Currently, there are 150 reemployment bases in Hubei Province which have generated more than 40,000 jobs.
The Anyang Trade Union Council in Henan Province and the city’s radio station has jointly launched a reemployment program called “Reemployment Hotline for Laid-off Workers”. Shi Yujun, a laid-off worker of a lead wire plant in the city, could not find a job and felt dejected. Later through the radio program, she managed to get a job working for a water plant. Since it began airing three years ago, the program has found jobs for 23,800 laid-off workers and lifted 8,200 laid-off workers out of poverty through reemployment. Today people in the city hail the program as the “lifeline for the unemployed”.
Top Concern
In China, female workers in their 40s and male workers in their 50s are dubbed “4050 people”. It is difficult for them to find new jobs as they are considered too old and do not have transferable skills. Helping them get back to work has become the top concern of Chinese trade unions.
The Hubei Provincial Trade Union Federation has built a database of the “4050 people” and created a profile for each of them. The trade union maintains close touch with the government, employers and residential communities in the hope of getting employment information. For those who wish to go into business for themselves, the trade union does everything they can to create conditions for them. From time to time, the trade union holds job fairs and brings employers and laid-off workers to help the latter find jobs. In the past few years, 7,600 laid-off workers have been brought back into the workforce.
There are 50,000 “4050” people in North China’s City of Tianjin. Since 2001, the trade union council in the city has collected several million yuan to develop reemployment services with a view to introducing flexible and diverse forms of employment. At present, the trade union has opened 50 employment agencies in the city finding jobs for 35,000 laid-off workers. Several years ago, the trade union of a textile mill in the city set up a reemployment service company offering services such as looking after the elderly and home help. To ensure the smooth running of the company, the trade union council earmarked 30,000 yuan to purchase some training facilities. By the end of last year, the company found jobs for 23,000 laid-off workers.
The Guiyang Trade Union Council in southwest China’s Guizhou Province is going to great length to create employment for laid-off workers. Guiyang is a traffic-clogged city without enough parking. The trade union council has set up a service center to solve this problem. The center takes care to employ laid-off workers.
47-year-old Zhang Yiping was laid off from the Guiyang Shoe Plant several years ago. Her husband was sick in bed and her son was very young. Life was hard for her. Seeing her plight, the trade union found her a job looking after vehicles on a stretch of road in the city. Last year, she got a promotion and her income increased considerably.
“The trade union always bears in mind the needs of laid-off workers,” said Zhang Yiping with delight. “I will work hard to repay their kindness.”
In recent years, 500 laid-off workers have found jobs through the trade union.
Employment Situation
In the past few years, Chinese trade unions have spared no effort to create employment for laid-off workers. By the end of 2004, trade unions in China set up 2,820 employment agencies, through which 2.3 million laid-off workers had found new jobs. Besides, trade unions opened 4,347 training schools. By the end of last year, of the 4 million laid-off workers who went through training programs organized by trade unions, 2.3 million had found new jobs.
Trade unions offer small loans to help laid-off workers become self-employed. By the end of 2004, trade unions across China handed out 275 million yuan to 119,000 laid-off workers to start their own business. Of the total number of recipients, 36,000 had established themselves in business, accounting for 30%. Trade unions at county level and above built 3,659 reemployment bases absorbing 569,000 laid-off workers.
In 2003, the ACFTU mapped out a three-year plan to train and create jobs for 1.5 million laid-off workers respectively. By the end of June 2004, the ACFTU achieved 54% and 80% of its training and employment targets. 2005 is the last year for the ACFTU’s three-year plan. The ACFTU has called on trade unions across the country to train and create employment for no less than 10% of the unemployed population in their localities and will use the finished target as a criteria to judge their performance. In 2005, trade unions at all levels will push on with its microfinance program to help laid-off workers, particularly those in their 40s or 50s, to find employment.
