Economic Observer reporter Zheng ChenyeOn February 12th, the third day of the Lunar New Year, this day is also called "Xiao Nian Dynasty" in traditional customs, and people have the habit of "not sweeping the floor, not begging for fire, and not drawing water", mainly to rest, so as to relieve the fatigue of the previous days of New Year's greetings.
On such a day when he should "sleep to his heart's content", 62-year-old Cao Zaixin set off early and embarked on the journey back to Shenzhen from his hometown in Henan. During the Spring Festival of the Year of the Dragon, although it is rare for his unit to take a holiday on the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, in order to earn a few more days of wages, Cao Zaixin still chose to return to Shenzhen early to start working, 2024 is already the 39th year of his "deep drift", from assembly line workers, construction workers, restaurant waiters, truck drivers to Didi drivers, as the first generation of migrant workers in Shenzhen, Cao Zaixin has basically done all the common front-line labor positions in the city. In the past 39 years, he has watched his title slowly change from "Xiao Cao" to "Lao Cao", raising his son to start a family, and experiencing the death of the old man in the family.
In Cao Zaixin's eyes, the janitor is a very suitable job for himself, he doesn't need to do any heavy work, and he can find such a job that is idle and can earn more than 4,000 yuan a month in the year of the sixtieth year, Cao Zaixin is very content.
But speaking of which, he is very envious of Zhao Yongting, who is the same age as him, the same township and works in the same logistics park.
Lao Zhao is in good health, he can still work as a porter now, I can't do heavy work with bad legs and feet now, he carries a big bag at least more than 8,000 a month, and he does more than 10,000. Cao Zaixin said.
When I first met Zhao Yong, it was hard for the reporter to believe that this was an old man in his sixties, his body was unusually strong, and his muscles were well-defined. Working as a porter in the logistics park is a very hard job, from 8 o'clock in the morning to 9 o'clock in the evening, dozens of pounds of goods can be carried into the truck by Zhao Yong on his shoulders.
Without learning, you can only do manual work, and there is nothing to be proud of. When the reporter praised Zhao Yongting's good health, he smiled and told the reporter.
Cao Zaixin and Zhao Yongting cherish their jobs very much, and it is rare to have a job with a good income at the age when they should retire.
It's hard to find a job in your sixties, people don't want you when you're old, and it's not easy to have a boss willing to give you a job. Zhao Yong heard.
What neither of them seems to realize is that, according to the current legal retirement age in our country, male workers like them who have reached the age of 60 and have worked continuously for more than 10 years have met the retirement standards, and theoretically should receive a pension and live at home for a long time.
However, when the reporter asked when the two old people would consider going through the social security retirement procedures and receiving pensions to go home to rest, Cao Zaixin and Zhao Yongting both told reporters that they had never paid social security.
Like Cao Zaixin and Zhao Yongting, there are many first-generation migrant workers who went south to work at the end of the last century, and they have basically reached the legal retirement age.
According to the data of the seventh national census, the population aged 60 and above in Shenzhen is 940716, accounting for 536%, of which 565217 are people aged 65 and over, accounting for 322%。Compared to the sixth national census in 2010, the proportion of people aged 60 and over increased by 236 percentage points, and the proportion of the population aged 65 and over increased by 139 percentage points. The Shenzhen Municipal Civil Affairs Bureau has said that it is expected that by the "16th Five-Year Plan" period, Shenzhen will enter an aging society.
How can these first-generation "migrant workers" who are close to or even have reached the legal retirement age, but lack social security, have a decent life in their old age after contributing their youth? This is becoming a topic of social concern.
"No concept" of social security
In the process of contacting Zhao Yongting and his co-workers, the reporter noticed a common phenomenon: migrant workers between the ages of 50 and 65 like them, due to their own education level and cognitive limitations, do not have a clear concept of the basic obligation of workers to pay social security.
In 2000, Zhao Yongting and his wife came south from Luohe City, Henan Province to Shenzhen to work.
Until today, Fuyong Street and Songgang Street in Bao'an District, Shenzhen are the gathering places of labor-intensive industries, at that time, a large number of Hong Kong and foreign-funded manufacturing industries poured in, providing a large number of grassroots jobs for the local area.
According to his recollections, around 2000, he worked as a general worker in Shenzhen, earning about 1,000 yuan a month, which seems very low, but compared with farming in his hometown, this is already a very high income.
In order to save money, when he first arrived in Shenzhen, Zhao Yongting didn't even rent a decent house, but found a balcony in the local urban village farmer's house in Bao'an, and lived in the balcony for more than 100 yuan a month.
The landlord has never seen such a rented house, but he is very good, and finally agreed, and gave us a balcony in the corridor, installed a door, and we lived in the balcony. Zhao Yong heard.
The life of the balcony dwelling is ten years. Around 2010, because of the change of place of work, Zhao Yongting moved out of the balcony "reluctantly" and rented a small single room near Longgang.
The reason why the husband and wife cut down on food and clothing, saved money and worked hard to earn money was nothing more than for the sake of their children. Zhao Yongting has a son and a daughter, their children are raised by the elderly in their hometown in Henan, and every month, Zhao Yongting will remit most of his salary to the elderly in the family as living expenses.
Zhao Yongting is very content with his life in Shenzhen, and he doesn't feel "bitter" at all: "My son got married, and the family spent 200,000 yuan to build a house, and if he didn't come out to work, where would he get the money to build a house?" ”
In this context, Zhao Yongting's perception of work and business owners is very simple - "exchanging labor for money", and it was not until around 2008 that Zhao Yongting had the first concept of the social insurance that business owners need to pay for them.
At that time, he wanted to bring his children to live in Shenzhen, but after consulting the local public school, he found that his children could not go through the enrollment procedures in Shenzhen.
We are not local, the children's hukou are all in Henan, if you are a foreigner, the children go to public schools to have social security, and they have to pay enough time, we have never paid social security, and we don't know where to pay. Zhao Yongting told reporters.
To a certain extent, Zhao Yongting is a front-line builder who has experienced the development process of Shenzhen, and has long been an authentic "local" in Shenzhen, but he has not paid social security for a year in the more than 20 years he has worked in Shenzhen.
The reason for not paying social security was before 2008 because Zhao Yongting did not know that the state still had a social insurance system, and after 2008, it was completely due to his lack of personal knowledge.
Cao Zaixin even believes that paying social security is a "welfare" that only highly educated workers can enjoy in large companies. "We don't have much education, we can't get into big companies, and only college students who sit in the office can have social security. Cao Zaixin said.
In addition, the suspicion that "paying social security is useless and troublesome" is also an important reason for them to give up paying social security. Because, in Zhao Yongting's eyes, paying social security is not a benefit, but a cost.
If you want to pay social security, you have to take a lot less money every month, and you won't be allowed to take it after you pay it, why should you pay it? When discussing the topic of social security with reporters, Zhao Yongting asked reporters rhetorically.
This is not an isolated case
Like Zhao Yongting and Cao Zaixin, the situation of never paying social security is very common among the first generation of migrant workers in Shenzhen.
My fellow countryman, I have changed so many jobs over the years, and there are few people around me who pay social security. Cao told reporters.
Among them, in addition to the factors that migrant workers themselves do not have a clear understanding of the social security system, the "indifference" of business owners to pay social security obligations for workers is also a reason that cannot be ignored.
To date, many small and medium-sized private enterprises in Shenzhen do not provide employees with the option of paying social insurance. In the 39 years that Cao Zaixin has worked in Shenzhen, he has changed dozens of jobs, large and small, and these jobs are different in their positions, but the only thing they have in common is that they will not take the initiative to pay social security for their employees.
You apply for a job, pass the physical examination, get an ID card and join the company, and people who work at work will pay you a salary, and you have never said that you have to pay social security. Cao told reporters.
During the interview, the reporter inquired about the information of Cao Zaixin's work unit in the national enterprise credit information publicity system, which has more than 100 employees in Cao Zaixin's mouth, and the number of insured people disclosed in the 2022 annual report turned out to be 0.
Zhao Yongting has met a company that is willing to pay social security for him, but the company only negotiates with him whether it is willing to pay, rather than making it mandatory to pay according to the law.
The company will ask you whether you want to pay social security, and then the salary is a price to pay social security, and the other price is not to pay social security, if you pay social security every month, you will have less money, and then you have to go through a lot of procedures, very troublesome, if you are not willing to pay to sign an agreement, voluntarily give up social security payment, many of us will sign. Zhao Yong heard.
During the interview, neither Zhao Yongting nor Cao Zaixin felt that the company's failure to pay social security for them was a matter that harmed their own rights.
There are so many requirements for coming out to work, and no factory will want you. Cao stressed to reporters.
In addition, from the perspective of private enterprises, not paying social security for employees is also a "compromise" to improve the efficiency of enterprises. The person in charge of a small private enterprise in Baoan told reporters that the payment of social security for small private enterprises means a lot of cost, and if all employees pay social security, it will inevitably greatly increase the operating pressure of the enterprise.
Go back to the countryside to farm
In the case of not paying social security at all, what are the plans for Cao Zaixin or Zhao Yongting, who have reached retirement age, for their retirement life?
For this topic, Zhao Yongting is very optimistic. He told reporters that he is not without security, and that he has participated in the new rural cooperative medical insurance in his hometown in Henan Province for a long time, and the new rural cooperative medical system will become an important life guarantee after his retirement.
When people are old, aren't they afraid that they will get sick and affect their children? In my hometown, I paid NCMS very early, which is 380 yuan per year, and many relatives in my family have used NCMS to report a lot of medical treatment, spending a lot of money. Zhao Yongting told reporters.
Talking about retirement, Cao Zaixin directly told reporters: "I'm still so young, why retire." ”
According to Cao Zaixin's idea, as long as he can still find a job, he will always work in Shenzhen, if one day he is too old and no one wants it, he will continue to do odd jobs in Shenzhen, even if it is "scavenging", he will always insist on living in Shenzhen.
However, it is worth noting that Cao Zaixin and Zhao Yongting have not purchased any real estate in Shenzhen at present, Cao Zaixin currently lives in the dormitory provided by the company, while Zhao Yongting still lives in a rented house.
Cao Zaixin believes that when the cost of living in Shenzhen is greater than his income, he will choose to return to his hometown to live. "When you can't make money, you retire. Cao Zaixin said.
When asked by a reporter about how to ensure the life of old age if you don't pay social security and can't receive a pension, Zhao Yongting provided a simple solution - "go back to the countryside to farm".
Zhao Yongting also told reporters that he did not rely on pension protection in his later years, and he now has more than 300,000 yuan in savings, which is enough for him to spend the rest of his life in his hometown in Henan.
To put it mildly, as long as there are no serious diseases, such as cancer or the like, the money saved by working for so many years is enough to spend two lifetimes at home. Zhao Yong heard.
Cao Zaixin once asked someone to consult on the issue of paying social security, and the answer he received at that time was that when the uninsured people from non-Shenzhen households reached the retirement age, they might need to make up the payment for 15 years in one go before they could receive pension benefits according to the Shenzhen method.
To make up the payment for 15 years, it will cost more than 100,000 yuan, and there are some requirements, I don't want to pay this money, it's too much, and I don't meet the conditions, I can't make up the payment. If I make up so much money, isn't it equivalent to paying a pension for myself? It's no different from using your own money. Cao told reporters.
During the interview, the reporter noticed that Cao Zaixin and Zhao Yongting were very optimistic about their later life, and they did not think that the pension of migrant workers like themselves would become a problem or burden for the whole society.
We have worked hard all our lives, we don't add a burden to our children, we don't add a burden to the country, we have hands and feet, we can't be idle, we don't need pensions, farmers are like this from generation to generation, I have never heard of not receiving a pension, and when we are old, we will not be able to eat. Cao Zaixin told reporters.
"Obligations" and "Rights".
Lu Quan, a professor at Chinese min University and secretary-general of the China Social Security Association, said in an interview with reporters that he had found many similar phenomena in the course of his investigation, and business owners and employees signed relevant agreements to voluntarily give up social security contributions. However, from a legal point of view, it is not in line with the requirements of current laws and regulations for such workers to waive their obligation to pay social insurance by signing an agreement between such an employee and an employer through communication, and signing an agreement to waive social insurance obligations within the legal framework itself lacks legal authorization.
The contribution of social insurance is a legal obligation in itself and cannot be resolved through civil relations. From a legal point of view, the social relations or social insurance rights established by the Social Insurance Law are superior to civil relations, which are compulsory institutional arrangements of the state and cannot be resolved through self-negotiation. Lu Quan said.
For example, the number of migrant workers surrendering insurance is very large, and secondly, migrant workers do not pay according to the actual salary, but pay according to the average salary or the lower limit, or even do not pay social security. However, the pension system has a long-term nature, and the insurance system is a combination of rights and obligations, and when your obligations are not fully fulfilled, you will definitely not be able to fully enjoy the rights, so for this kind of situation, at the level of social insurance, it cannot be solved. Talking about the phenomenon of insufficient social security payment of the first generation of migrant workers in Shenzhen, Lu Quan pointed out to reporters.
Unlike other systems, the pension system requires a long-term perspective. The long cycle requires 20 or 30 years of contributions, which is obligatory. You can only enjoy your rights when you retire after 20 to 30 years of contributions, and the extent of your obligations and contributions determines the extent to which you enjoy your rights. At present, the pension situation of this group of migrant workers is relatively poor, but we can not find a solution in the pension insurance system, if they do not pay, (social security) will give them more, the basic rules of this system will be destroyed, everyone will think that if you pay a little less now, you can get it in the future. From a positive point of view, this is a very good national pension education. Lu full name.
In Lu Quan's view, the retirement security of migrant workers like Cao Zaixin and Zhao Yongting can be solved in other ways.
The first generation of migrant workers has returned to the countryside, in fact, there is no need to worry, their savings for many years are enough to support their later life, but we must prevent problems and extreme events, for example, the living standard or pension level of retired migrant workers is lower than the local subsistence standard, and the pension is the only income of retired migrant workers**, which can be made up for by the subsistence allowance system. Therefore, first, the rules of the pension insurance system cannot be destroyed; Second, it needs the support of the entire social security system. If you don't have coverage in the insurance system, then the basic assistance system should come into play. Lu Quan said.