Functions of hometown association and its role in addressing inequalities

Abstract

Migrant workers, who live and work in other places than their hometown, are an important part of Chinese society, and their organization of hometown associations has also profoundly affected the situation at the grassroots level in China. This study takes the hometown association of migrant workers in Guangdong Province, whose hometown is Jingyang County, Shaanxi Province, to study the functions of hometown association and its role in addressing the inequality. The results of the study shows that for these migrant workers who work at other places than their hometown, the hometown associations have played an important role in helping them in familiarizing themselves with the local environment, finding jobs, and other basic things, for instance, handling the social insurance fee. At the same time, the role the hometown association plays in the new generation of the migrant workers, the role that the hometown association plays in safeguarding their rights are also discussed. In the process of safeguarding their rights, the inequality, including the inequality between workers and the inequality between employers and workers, are greatly alleviated. At the same time, however, the inequality is strengthened as well. Studying hometown associations will help deepen our understanding of migrant workers as a group and contribute to the current lack of research on this aspect in the academic community.