Equal rights for migrants
(China Daily)
Updated: 2006-10-12 09:55 Migrant populations should be
granted equal rights, says a signed article in Beijing News. An excerpt follows:
Governments at all levels face a tough task in better managing and serving
migrant populations.
The municipal government of Shanghai carried out a residence certificate
system in 2002, granting migrant labourers some treatments enjoyed by their
urban counterparts. In Shenzhen, the residence certificate has included
healthcare, education and many other contents. The government of Beijing is also
working on a local regulation about migrant population management that has
aroused much attention.
It is not only a specific issue of migrant population management and service
but also an issue concerning social welfare, public products, management
mechanisms and human rights.
For more than half a century, permanent residence registration has been the
sole criterion for one to enjoy urban public products such as healthcare,
education, employment and social security. Migrant workers, though contributing
to the local economy, cannot enjoy such products equally. Sometimes they are
even guarded or discriminated against.
Citizens should have equal rights in their country. It goes against social
equality and justice as well as basic social principles if migrant populations
in cities cannot equally enjoy public products.
Migrant populations cannot have a sense of belonging to the city they live
in, which is no good for social order and stability and will bring negative
impacts to the management.
Institutional design has decisive influences. Scientific, rational and just
social policies and laws will build our society in a positive way. Migrant
labourers, especially those who have realized stable employment in the city,
should be granted treatment equal to their urban counterparts.
It is notable that the municipal government of Beijing is to include migrant
populations in the public health service system. But a broader vision is needed
in the above-mentioned issues concerning migrant populations.
Beijing should take the lead in this arena.
(China Daily 10/12/2006 page4)
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