As Job Losses Mount, Asian Workers Return to the Countryside
亚洲各国竭力为失业者寻找出路
Millions of Asian workers are losing their jobs because of the global economic downturn. After many years of urban job creation, governments are scrambling to find work in the countryside for the unemployed.
数以百万计的亚洲工人正在因为全球经济衰退而失去工作。多年来城市就业机会不断增加，可是，现在各国政府正竭力在农村地区为失业者找寻出路。
Reports of factory closures across the region are increasing. Most job cuts are happening in the manufacturing sector - from toy makers to automakers. Production has either ceased or slowed down because of the global economic crisis.
亚洲地区关于工厂倒闭的报导越来越多。大多数被解雇的员工是在制造业，包括玩具制造业和汽车制造业。由于全球经济危机，生产不是陷于停顿就是放慢了进度。
Suparat Sirisuwanangkura, head of the Thai Auto Industry Association, says the industry - which employs 300,000 workers - is trying hard to hold onto workers. But production is expected to fall 20 to 30 percent this year.
泰国汽车工业协会的领导人斯里苏万昂库拉说，有30万职工的泰国汽车制造业在竭尽全力地保住职工，但是，预计今年的生产将下降20%到30%。
"We don't have any plans to shut down any plants. But, of course, we have to adjust many things - no overtime or very few," said Suparat. "The two shifts may try to make it one shift. The last one we, as much as possible, try to avoid is reduction of manpower."
他说：“我们不打算关闭任何汽车制造厂。但是，当然我们需要作多方面的调整，我们不会再给加班费或者给得很少。还可能要把两班制改成一班制。最后的一步是我们尽可能要避免的，那就是削减人力。”
Governments across Asia are worried about mass unemployment and the social instability that could bring. Many of those losing their jobs are migrant workers, who have left the provinces to work in Asia's booming cities.
亚洲各国政府为大批人失业而感到忧虑，因为这可能导致社会动乱。许多失业的人是流动民工，他们离开家乡省份到亚洲兴旺的城市地区谋生。
In China, their numbers are staggering and they are returning in large numbers to their hometowns. Geoffrey Crothall is the spokesman of the Hong Kong-based China Labor Bulletin, an organization involved in workers' rights in China.
在中国，民工的人数更是高得惊人，而大批中国民工正在返回老家。克罗塞尔是总部设在香港的劳动者权益组织--中国劳工通讯的发言人。
"Some official figures are saying the number of people who lost their jobs [last year] is around eight million, most of whom are migrant workers," said Crothall. "If you put that in the context of the number of migrant workers in China - which is usually estimated at 130 million - that gives you some idea of the scale of the lay-offs at the moment."
他说：“某些官方统计数据显示，失业的人数约有8百万，大多数是民工。中国流动工人的总数是1亿3千万人。在这样背景下，你就会对当前员工解雇的规模有点概念了。”
Some governments are hoping that new investments in the countryside could help ease employment pressures.
某些国家政府希望对农村地区的投资能帮助缓解失业造成的压力。
Beijing is hoping its $600 billion stimulus plan, with its huge spending on infrastructure in the provinces, can help absorb some of these workers. But between six to seven-million new graduates will be added to the labor force in the next few months.
北京希望，政府的6千亿美元的经济刺激计划能帮助这些失业民工重新就业。这一计划将在省级的基本建设方面花费巨额资金。但是有6百万到7百万的应届毕业生几个月后即将就业。
The government is offering to refund college education expenses for graduates willing to work in the rural areas.
政府愿意还给那些愿意去农村地区就业的大学毕业生他们上大学时交的学费。
Crothall says the stakes are high for Beijing.
"If these workers cannot be re-employed, the potential for social unrest increases and the government is very well aware of that," he said.
In Japan, the government is also offering work in farms to unemployed young Japanese, as a way to build a new generation of farmers.
在日本，政府也向年轻的失业者提供在农场的工作机会，以培养新一代农民。
In Thailand, Jaded Chowtchilai, a labor activist who helps unemployed women workers, says dismissed workers are trying their luck in the provinces.
在泰国，曾帮助失业妇女的劳工活动分子贾迪德说，被辞退的工人在地方省份碰运气找工作。
"I think most of them try to find a job; but, it's difficult," said Jaded. "Some jobs are far away, in another province. Some of them go to countryside, go to the farmland."
他说：“我想他们大多数想找到工作，但是这很难。有些工作地点遥远，在另一个省份。有些人就干脆到乡下去种田了。”
With the Thai government promising greater incentives to farmers, as part of its economic stimulus plan, this may be where hope lies for the thousands losing their livelihoods.
泰国政府承诺给予农民更大的物质刺激，这是经济刺激规划的一部分，对几千名失去谋生之道的人说来，这可能是希望所在。
Farm incomes in the region have fallen, as agricultural commodity prices dropped from their record highs last year. Some Asian officials say jobs will have to eventually return in the industrial sector for the labor market to stabilize.
亚洲农民的收入不断下降，因为农产品的价格从去年的创记录高度跌了下来。某些亚洲官员说，要稳定劳工市场，最终还得由工业部门来重新开创就业机会。
