China migrant laborers learn the law to win rights

By John Ruwitch and Lindsay Beck

SHENZHEN/WANZHOU, China (Reuters) - Qi Yunhui didn't even graduate from middle school, but on a recent afternoon he addressed the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court with the confidence of a seasoned litigator.

When he came to Shenzhen in 2002, the fast talking native of China's central province of Hubei worked in a leather shoe factory. Now, he is part of a new and growing breed of "citizens' agents", former workers offering cheap legal aid to fellow migrants involved in labor disputes.

In the past five years or so, these self-taught "barefoot" labor lawyers have proliferated, filling an important niche in a country where migrant workers are increasingly caught in a dilemma -- they are encouraged by the leadership to know their rights, but lack effective, efficient channels to protect them.

"We want to encourage people to go to court," Qi, 30, said over dinner with five toy factory workers he was representing in a case over unpaid overtime.

China's 150 million internal migrants, mostly working for low wages in export processing factories or in construction, have helped write the country's economic success story.

But their rights have been consistently sidelined, and tales of illegally low pay, abusive factory conditions and a litany of contract violations are commonplace.

Wary of unrest, China's leaders have passed a series of laws designed to strengthen workers' status. This January, a new labor contract law took effect and a dispute arbitration law will come into force in May.

Premier Wen Jiabao has personally campaigned to curb the problem of managers withholding pay, a situation many migrants say has improved significantly during the five years of his tenure.