Where Lies the Potential of People-Centered Urbanization? An Analysis of Development Space

The core of urbanization is the urbanization of people. At the current stage, accelerating the transfer and employment of surplus rural labor is an important way to increase farmers' income and achieve people-centered urbanization. In late autumn, the reporter followed a research team composed of the agriculture and labor office and other departments of Zhucheng City, Shandong Province, and conducted research on the transfer and employment of rural labor in five communities: Denggezhuang Community in Longdu Subdistrict, Yangjia Guanjin Community in Jiayue Town, Yuewang Community in Shiqiaozi Town, Darenhe Community in Baichihe Town, and Xinxing Community in Xinxing Town, by issuing survey forms and holding discussion meetings.

Zhucheng is the birthplace of agricultural industrialization. It has many leading enterprises such as BAIC Foton, Xinlang Sinur, Zhucheng Foreign Trade, and Delis, and its economy is developed. In the first half of this year, it achieved a total fiscal revenue of 35.26 billion yuan, and in 2013 it ranked 32nd among the top 100 counties in the country. The 5 communities selected for this survey had a total population of 22,005 people, including 15,854 laborers, with 9,244 rural laborers transferred, accounting for 58% of the total labor force. The 5 communities are of different types. Denggezhuang Community is a suburban community, with a labor transfer employment rate of 61%; Yangjia Guanjin Community is a community with relatively developed modern agriculture, with a transfer employment rate of 39%; Yuewang Community is a relatively ordinary remote community, with a transfer employment rate of 58%; Darenhe Community is a community at the former township seat, with a transfer employment rate of 55%; Xinxing Community is a community at the town seat, with a transfer employment rate of 70%.

Mainly local employment, showing "four characteristics"

⟦NL> Yan Zhongfeng, a farmer from Dongdenggezhuang Village in Denggezhuang Community, has worked at Zhucheng Foreign Trade in the city for more than 10 years. "I have been working at this enterprise all these years. Last year I even became a team leader in the workshop, and the income is not bad, nearly 3,000 yuan a month," Yan Zhongfeng said.

Vice Mayor Kong Xiaoming introduced that in this survey, transferred laborers aged 21 to 60 accounted for 88%, and those aged 21 to 50 accounted for 75%. They are the main force in labor transfer, and among laborers under 50, the male-to-female ratio is roughly equal. These are some common features. On closer analysis, there are four characteristics.

The employment rate within the city reached 91%, which is the biggest characteristic. Among them, 14% were within the village, 36% were outside the village but within the town, and 40% were outside the town but within the city. In particular, the rate was as high as 96% in Denggezhuang Community, a community with notable results, and 95% in Xinxing Community, a community at the town seat.

"The second characteristic is the high proportion in the secondary industry, which is directly related to Zhucheng's developed industry," Kong Xiaoming said. Among the rural labor force in the five communities, 61% were engaged in the secondary industry, 7% in the primary industry, and 12% and 20% in the tertiary industry and self-employment, respectively.

What is most encouraging is that the income situation of transferred laborers is good, with those earning more than 2,000 yuan per month accounting for 61% of the total labor force. However, in the remote Yuewang Community it was only 45%, and in Darenhe Community it was 55%, indicating that those earning more than 2,000 yuan mainly work in the secondary and tertiary industries.

Those who work away from home all year round account for a large proportion, reaching 62%, while those who do so for more than 6 months account for 23%, indicating that income and work are relatively stable, which is a very good trend.

Constrained by education and skills, there are still "five shortcomings"

Zhang Huanxin, director of the Municipal Agriculture and Labor Office, admitted frankly: "The low educational level and low professional skills of transferred rural laborers greatly limit their own development."

There were 6,395 laborers with junior middle school education or below, accounting for 69% of the total labor force; high school accounted for 16%, and junior college or above only 7%, indicating that the overall educational level of rural laborers is still low, which is also the biggest "shortcoming." In addition, another major "shortcoming" is that only 24% of the total had received professional technical training, which created an even greater combined effect.

Yang Shusen from Yangjia Guanjin Community in Jiayue Town works at Huifa Food Company. His words are somewhat representative: "We have no education and no special skills. It was not easy to get someone to help find a job, so I have just kept working here. The work is skewering meat, with no technical content, and I never thought there would be much room for development."

What Yang Shusen called "getting someone to help find a job" is also a major "shortcoming." The survey shows that only 4% of rural labor transfer employment was introduced through organizations, while 96% relied on "blood ties, personal ties, and local ties" to find work, and there is still fairly obvious spontaneity and a certain degree of blindness.

The low rate of labor security is a universal "shortcoming." In the five communities, only 20% had signed labor contracts with their units, 26% paid for themselves, and most people had no labor security. In some cases, individual employers even deducted and owed wages; there were many reports of poor working environments, lack of labor protection, and arbitrary punishment and harm to migrant workers.

The land transfer rate of transferred laborers is still very low, at only 26%, indicating that seasonal and part-time employment accounts for a relatively large proportion. There is one exception: the relatively remote Yuewang Community had a land transfer rate of 68%, indicating that the farther from home, the higher the land transfer rate.

With an eye to long-term development, there are "four directions for effort"

Zhang Huanxin said that in response to the characteristics and shortcomings, the research team, after in-depth analysis, believed there were "four directions for effort."

In response to the characteristic that the vast majority of laborers are employed locally, it is necessary to accelerate the development of the county economy. Whether county-level enterprises, service enterprises in towns and communities, or efficient farming and breeding in rural areas, all are the best choices for transferring laborers nearby.

In response to the reality that laborers' education and skills are relatively low, it is necessary to vigorously carry out quality improvement projects. "This is foundational work. Giving a man a fish is not as good as teaching him to fish. Only when workers possess strong skills can they win in employment competition, gain their own voice in enterprises, and lay a solid foundation for increasing income and obtaining security," Zhang Huanxin said.

In response to the "shortcoming" of the low degree of organized transfer, it is necessary to improve the degree of organization in labor transfer. It is necessary not only to improve administrative services such as vocational training, employment consultation, job registration, information inquiries, and job referrals, but also to vigorously cultivate intermediary organizations, integrate labor information service networks, and use social resources to provide services for transferred laborers.

In response to the "shortcoming" of poor security, it is necessary to improve and perfect relevant policies and systems to protect the rights and interests of migrant workers. For example, explore social insurance mechanisms suited to the characteristics of migrant workers, incorporate migrant workers into the public management service system, and ensure that migrant workers enjoy the same treatment as urban residents in medical care, children's schooling, and other aspects.