Factory life leaves China workers vulnerable

    
In a brightly-lit Shenzhen restaurant, 21-year-old Zheng Liqiang, a migrant worker from the inland province of Sichuan, describes his life in this southern Chinese city as “bu kai xin” — glum.He says his working hours are too long; his salary too low and he has no personal life.”I feel lonely in this big city,” he says.For the past three years, Zheng has been fixing photocopy machines at various factories in China’s manufacturing heartland.His monthly salary of 3,500 to 4,500 yuan ($580 -$740) — depending on overtime — is higher than the average wage, but only because his job requires more risks — the ink has toxic fumes.Yet, he worries about losing a job he loathes. In fact, he says he feels constantly anxious — a state of mind made clear by a habit of cracking his knuckles and jiggling his leg as he talks.If he were able to speak to a psychologist, it’s possible he would be diagnosed as suffering from anxiety disorder, a common problem among migrant workers, according to Professor Cheng Yu at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou.”Their mental health is far more worrying than we originally thought,” he said.

CNN