Getting by Without State-Sponsored Social Insurance

This paper examines where migrant workers currently stand in relation to social insurance, their needs, coping strategies, and expectations by drawing on the findings of our survey on soical protection for migrant workers completed in winter 2005. We begin by reviewing the reform of the urban social insurance system and the recent moves of the Chinese state to extend protection to urban migrants. In the core part, we examine our respondents' participation in state-sponsored insurance schemes, the livelihood problems they face while living in the city, their coping methods, and expectations on the state. In the conclusion we comment on the institutional constraints that obstruct their access to social security and the inherent weaknesses of the current system. We argue that time must not be lost in tackling these daunting issues in light of the seriousness of their survival challenges and the rising expectations of a new generation of migrants who are more educated, more rights conscious and more determined to put down roots in the city.