China Labor Study Group
This is a survey on the impact of the 2008-9 economic crisis on rural migrant workers in Guangdong. 70 percent of the interviewees reported that production became unstable, sometimes leading to dismissals. Although 90 percent of the interviewees said that the crisis affected them, 60 percent reported that compared to 2008 before the crisis broke out wages did not fall in 2009, while 30 percent reported a fall in income. When asked what would they do in face of the loss of jobs or income, 26 percent responded that they thought complaining to the government might be more effective, while 38 percent thought that taking collective action, such as striking, might be more effective. In face of the wave of dismissals, half of the interviewees said that they did not know if migrating to cities to work was still feasible anymore. 40 percent responded that they thought working in the cities was just transitional; they sooner or later would go back to their home village.
The report is only available in Chinese.