Topic 6 Globalization and Social Exclusion

1
Topic 6 Globalization and Social
ExclusionHong Kong
2

• Questions
• What are the new forms of social exclusion (????)
  in Hong Kong at the time of changing itself into
  a global city?
• How these global changes affect employment in
  general and youth employment in particular?
• Theme
• The new forms of social exclusion in Hong Kong in
  the process of HK struggling to be a global city.
  

3
Social Exclusion in Hong Kong

• Global City vs Dual Society a dual society with
  new forms of social exclusion is forming.
• Social exclusion can be seen from the following
  five patterns
• economic exclusion
• cultural exclusion
• exclusion by isolation
• spatial exclusion
• institutional exclusion

Key concept to remember!
4
Social Polarization and Marginal Workers

• The HK Oxfam report, entitled Situation of Hong
  Kong Marginalized Workers in Recent Years(? ? ?
  ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ), had been published in June
  2000.
• The report indicates that the number of marginal
  workers has been increasing drastically, from
  about 380,000 in 1996 to 640,000 in 1999.

5
Social Polarization and Marginal Workers

• Marginal workers refer to the persons who are
  either unemployed, underemployed, low-paid below
  half of the median income.
• Economic restructuring and globalisation lead to
  a dual and segregated labour market (???????) and
  thus the problems of marginal workers.

Key concept to remember!
6
Social Polarization and Marginal Workers

• The research also puts emphasis on the changes in
  individual, familial and community networks of
  these marginal workers, and their situation in
  the face of social exclusion.
• It looks at how their social capitals (????)
  become weakened in terms of the changing
  community economies, the Governments
  redevelopment policies and the market
  monopolization of big capitals.

Key concept to remember!
7
Social Polarization and Marginal Workers

• The research highlights four important concepts
  the vulnerability of marginal workers, the
  marginal trap (????), social exclusion, and
  social capital and community economies.

Key concept to remember!
8
Marginal Workers as Unprotected Deprived Workers

• The research shows that marginal workers in Hong
  Kong are the most deprived workers, lacking any
  protection of their rights.
• They are vulnerable socio-economically, with no
  bargaining power.

9
Marginal Workers as Unprotected Deprived Workers

• Under these circumstances, they work for long
  hours, with very low pay, uncompensated over-time
  work, appalling working conditions and under
  strict surveillance

10
Falling into a Marginal Trap

• The de-industrialisation, economic polarisation,
  an unbalanced government economic policy,
  stringent control on hawkers, and redevelopment
  of old districts, have all contributed to the
  predicament of marginal workers.

11
Falling into a Marginal Trap

• Once they fall into the marginal sector, as
  temporary, part-time, or contracted workers,
  there are very few, if not none, upward mobility
  chances.

12
Falling into a Marginal Trap

• At most, they would be moving between the
  marginal labour market and the government social
  security system - Comprehensive Social Assistance
  (CSAA)- to maintain a minimum level of
  subsistence.

Next magazine 10/04/2003
13
Falling into a Marginal Trap

• The marginal labour market is in effect a "trap".
  It is difficult, if not impossible, for workers
  to escape from it.

Typical Bird view of Lower-middle Class people
14
Social Exclusion as the Source of Marginal
Workers Problems

• The marginalisation of workers is not simply a
  poverty issue it is also a phenomenon of social
  exclusion.
• Marginal workers are women, new arrivals, and
  those who come from minority groups.

15
Social Exclusion as the Source of Marginal
Workers Problems

• They become CSAA recipients and are excluded from
  the mainstream society at large, in the areas of
  employment opportunities as well as human
  relationships.

16
Social Exclusion as the Source of Marginal
Workers Problems

• It is evident that it is not an individual issue.
  The social system, which excludes marginal
  workers, is one of the major culprits.

17
Social Exclusion as the Source of Marginal
Workers Problems

• Treating marginal workers as a product of poverty
  risks missing the non-economic factors.
• At worse, it wrongly gives an idea that
  compensating the marginal workers economically or
  booting up the economy can automatically resolve
  their problems.

18
Social Exclusion as the Source of Marginal
Workers Problems

• Indeed, poverty is resulted from inequalities
  not only economic inequality, but also
  inequalities of accessing their political and
  social rights.

Peter Woo
19
Weakening Social Capital and Declining Community
Economies

• Social capital that previously formed based on
  their occupational affiliation and geographic
  proximity was lost.
• With the economic transformation and rescaling of
  urban space, these livelihood networks of a
  particular neighbourhood, workers' group and
  small entrepreneur were gradually dismantled.

20
Weakening Social Capital and Declining Community
Economies

• This has extensively undermined the capacity of
  individual members to cope in times of crisis.

21
Weakening Social Capital and Declining Community
Economies

• The growing trend towards big monopolies
  threatens the "living space" of the informal
  sector, like hawking or doing small business

Pictures from a local public estates market, most
the of shops were closed.
22
Weakening Social Capital and Declining Community
Economies

• But this "living space" has been tremendously
  reduced under cut-throat competition from big
  supermarkets, and chain stores.
• The weakening of familial networks and social
  exclusion also contributes to the declining
  social capital stocks.

23
Social Exclusion and Youth Employment in HK

• Research conducted by the Social and Economic
  Policy Institute in 2000 helps us to understand
  the current situation of youth employment in HK
  in recent years.
• In recent years, one issue emerged among a
  substantial proportion of younger workers was the
  problem of working poor.

24
Social Exclusion and Youth Employment in HK

• The problem was worse among lower age groups.
• The ratio of male working youth aged 15-19 with
  earnings below the median income of all employed
  persons increased from 23.5 in 1996 to 27.6 in
  1999, and over 30 in 2003.
• For their female counterparts, the figure
  increased from 19.2 in 1996 to 33.3 in 1999,
  and over 35 in 2003.

25
Social Exclusion and Youth Employment in HK

• The problem of unemployment rate among younger
  people was even more severe.
• The unemployment rate of male youth aged 15-19
  increased from 12.7 in 1996 to 33.5 in 2003.

26
Social Exclusion and Youth Employment in HK

• For their female counterparts, the figure
  increased from 12.3 in 1996 to 32.1 in 2003.
• The study indicates that the employment problem
  of younger people cannot be reduced to individual
  characteristics.

27
Social Exclusion and Youth Employment in HK

• Many younger people face institutional barriers,
  including systemic exclusion by the labour
  market, which restrict them into a very narrow
  range of jobs.
• These jobs are often unfulfilling and are carried
  out in poor working conditions.

28
Social Exclusion and Youth Employment in HK

• Given the unsatisfactory employment prospect,
  many young people may simply react by dropping
  out of the labour market.
• For new immigrants or those with physical
  impairment, their positions in the labour market
  are further marginalized by social
  discrimination.

29
Conclusion

• Hong Kong is a global city. But for whom?
• The social inequalities in terms of class, age,
  gender, ethnicity are widened.
• Questions remain
• What is the population policy for?
• Should HK be a place for the rich and for the
  talented?

Population policies for...