Tuesday, September 28, 2004
[IWS] ILO: CHINA's CONSTRUCTION SECTOR: Policy analysis on sectoral development and employment challenges [June 2004]
IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________
Employment-Intensive Investment Branch
International Labour Office, Geneva
The Construction Sector in the People's Republic of China: Policy analysis on sectoral development and employment challenges
June, 2004
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/employment/recon/eiip/publ/setp/setp15.pdf
[full-text, 42 pages]
[excerpt]
PREFACE
Job creation is at the top of the agenda for governments worldwide, and China is no
exception as it works to stem the threat of growing unemployment.
Although the Government of China has been working hard to generate employment
through employment and re-employment programmes across the country, it continues to
act as a bottleneck in the country's development as a result of a large number of new
entrants to the labour market, the migration of surplus rural labour, as well as layoffs in
state-owned enterprises undergoing reform and restructuring.
While the study shows that the construction sector has been vital in absorbing a
large chunk of rural labour, particularly during the 1980s and early 1990s, recent
developments, including restructuring and greater mechanization and industrialization
have seen job growth for rural labour easing.
One of the author's main recommendations is that more labour-based techniques
should be utilized in China to try and generate more employment opportunities and counter
the potential negative effects posed by a shift towards using pre-mixed concrete and prefabricated
fittings.
The ILO's Employment-Intensive Investment Programme (EIIP) has proven that a
labour-based development strategy not only shows the advantage of higher labour inputs,
but also reduces costs, and hence is more productive when considering all production
factors such as capital, unskilled workers etc. Therefore, the authors conclude that a more
balanced policy has to take into account both economic, technical and social aspects of
development, particularly in the countries that have a surplus of labour.
The study marks a new era for the ILO and its constituents in working to influence
policies at an upstream level. We hope the conclusions, findings and recommendations can
help policy makers develop employment-led investment polices, strategies and
programmes, and further contribute to a shift from purely growth-centred strategies
towards more employment-intensive development patterns.
_____________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
Stuart Basefsky *
Director, IWS News Bureau *
Institute for Workplace Studies *
Cornell/ILR School *
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor *
New York, NY 10016 *
*
Telephone: (607) 255-2703 *
Fax: (607) 255-9641 *
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu *
****************************************
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies
School of Industrial & Labor Relations
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor
New York, NY 10016
________________________________________________________________________
Employment-Intensive Investment Branch
International Labour Office, Geneva
The Construction Sector in the People's Republic of China: Policy analysis on sectoral development and employment challenges
June, 2004
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/employment/recon/eiip/publ/setp/setp15.pdf
[full-text, 42 pages]
[excerpt]
PREFACE
Job creation is at the top of the agenda for governments worldwide, and China is no
exception as it works to stem the threat of growing unemployment.
Although the Government of China has been working hard to generate employment
through employment and re-employment programmes across the country, it continues to
act as a bottleneck in the country's development as a result of a large number of new
entrants to the labour market, the migration of surplus rural labour, as well as layoffs in
state-owned enterprises undergoing reform and restructuring.
While the study shows that the construction sector has been vital in absorbing a
large chunk of rural labour, particularly during the 1980s and early 1990s, recent
developments, including restructuring and greater mechanization and industrialization
have seen job growth for rural labour easing.
One of the author's main recommendations is that more labour-based techniques
should be utilized in China to try and generate more employment opportunities and counter
the potential negative effects posed by a shift towards using pre-mixed concrete and prefabricated
fittings.
The ILO's Employment-Intensive Investment Programme (EIIP) has proven that a
labour-based development strategy not only shows the advantage of higher labour inputs,
but also reduces costs, and hence is more productive when considering all production
factors such as capital, unskilled workers etc. Therefore, the authors conclude that a more
balanced policy has to take into account both economic, technical and social aspects of
development, particularly in the countries that have a surplus of labour.
The study marks a new era for the ILO and its constituents in working to influence
policies at an upstream level. We hope the conclusions, findings and recommendations can
help policy makers develop employment-led investment polices, strategies and
programmes, and further contribute to a shift from purely growth-centred strategies
towards more employment-intensive development patterns.
_____________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
Stuart Basefsky
Director, IWS News Bureau
Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell/ILR School
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (607) 255-2703
Fax: (607) 255-9641
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu
****************************************
# posted by SBasefsky : 10:41 AM
