Improving rural labourers'status in China's construction industry

The state of human resources in China's construction industry presents significant problems for the national economy and for the efficiency of the construction industry. This paper considers policy and practical questions for improving the quality and efficiency of the large rural workforce in construction. Labourers from rural areas form 90% of the national workforce, yet 90% of them lack any formal job training. The existing problems besetting labourers from rural areas include low-quality outputs, low wages, poor living and working conditions, and high mobility. The proposed remedy needs to include: training provisions for labourers from rural areas to improve their working skills and overall quality; creating organized labour to increase the stability of the workforce; creating a proper labour-cost system; and developing a more complete labour market. Some privately owned Chinese construction companies are setting an example of innovative leadership in improving training and working conditions for labourers from rural areas and consequently are benefiting from increased profits.