Sha, K and Jiang, Z (2003) Improving rural labourers'status in China's construction industry. Building Research & Information, 31(6), pp. 464-473. ISSN 0961-3218
Abstract
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.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | China; human resources; labour cost; labour market; labourers; rural areas; sustainable development; vocational training |
| Index terms: | construction company, profit, sustainable development, stability, mobility, vocational training, efficiency, wages, China, construction industry, working conditions, rural area, national economy, labour market, labour cost, human resource |
| Subjects: | cost management, industry analysis, infrastructure and transport systems, business economics, land use and regional development, professional development, health safety and environment, Geography, employment law, economics, performance management, structural engineering, management, economic analysis, organization |
| Topics: | Research Practice, Geographical Context, Engineering Principles, Business Strategy, Health and Safety, Procurement, Quality Management, Human Resources, Supply Chain Management, Legal Issues, Urban Studies, Education |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCT |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here