Five Guangzhou communities, including Baiyun, Yuexiu and Panyu districts, have been chosen as test areas in a plan to assimilate migrant workers into the local citzenry, according to China Daily.
Migrant workers do not presently receive the same assistances as their urban counterparts, whose household registration (or hukou) entitles them to education, medical treatment and social security, among other benefits.
The plan asserts that migrants will be encouraged to join local Party branches and partake in administration, construction, discussion and other community matters. According to the report, the neighborhoods chosen thus far have large numbers of migrant workers.
By 2020, the children of migrant workers will be able to attend primary and high schools in the pilot areas.
"If my son can go to a local school, most of my difficulties will be solved," Wang Yangsheng, a migrant worker residing in Guangzhou’s Tianhe District, told China Daily.
According to Zeng Kaizhang, the director of Guangzhou’s management bureau for migrant workers, a series of guidance courses will be offered to migrant workers to help them assimilate into local communities over the next five years. The courses will teach special skills and labor law education, as well as inform migrants about regional customs and dialects.
"The pilot project will be expanded to the entire city when it is proven successful and effective in building a harmonious society and improving the management of the large number of migrant workers in a major Chinese metropolis," Zeng told China Daily.
Guangzhou is home to more than 7.83 million registered migrant workers, according to the report, and we're sure they are breathing a collective sigh of relief at the announcement.
[Image via the WSJ]
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