Research On The Relief Of Unemployed Persons In Changsha City In The Early Years Of New China(1949-1953)

After the liberation of Changsha,it was in a special historical period of breaking through the old and establishing a new one.Under the interweaving of old and new contradictions,the issue of unemployment was particularly complex,and unemployment relief became an important part of the Party’s work in the city.The targets of government relief vary at different stages,extending from unemployed workers to groups such as unemployed intellectuals,urban poor,and housewives.By incorporating unemployed individuals into the system and continuously instilling ideology,the working class has been expanded.The government led unemployment relief is not only a process of solving unemployment problems,but also a process of shaping the party’s class foundation in cities.To address the issue of unemployment,the Changsha Municipal Government has separated the relief for unemployed workers from general social assistance and gradually established a special system for unemployment relief.The Unemployed Workers’ Relief Committee and its executing agency,the Unemployed Workers’ Relief Office,provide organizational guarantees for unemployment relief;The unemployment registration system provides information security for unemployment relief;The unemployment relief fund system mainly raises relief funds through local self financing and government funding,providing material security for unemployment relief.These systems are not fixed,but are constantly adjusted and improved in practice according to changes in the political and social environment.At the same time,as a transitional unemployment relief system,it has significant flexibility in its implementation.The specific unemployment relief work and the construction of the unemployment relief system are carried out simultaneously,with specific measures including simple relief,work as a substitute for relief,returning to hometown production,self rescue production,job transfer training,and employment introduction.Simple relief is the direct distribution of money and food by the government,and how to accurately deliver the food to the people in need is a problem that troubles the relief office.Work relief is the main way to relieve unemployed people,and the complex aspects of worker wages,ideological education,and related management issues in work relief showcase the complex nature of unemployment relief.The contradiction between returning to hometown and entering the city runs through the entire process of production,and the division of the urban and rural labor market is gradually brewing.There are three types of training courses for job transfer: political,cultural,and business skills,which are both independent and interrelated.Production self rescue is an ideal relief method that the government hopes to solve unemployment difficulties while also creating social wealth,but the actual situation and assumption are very different.The introduction of employment is closely linked to the reform of the national employment system,and in the process of introducing employment,the relationship between the government,employers,and unemployed workers has been reconstructed.Unemployment relief work has a strong political color,with political mobilization and ideological propaganda always accompanying it.It is a tool to achieve relief goals and also a means to achieve political goals.The Changsha Municipal Government has established a government led unemployment relief system based on central instructions and local actual conditions,providing relief to the unemployed through multiple channels,stabilizing the emotions and social order of the unemployed workers.While enhancing their sense of identification with the new regime,it further integrates the working class with the national regime.From a long-term perspective,it also laid the foundation for the establishment of the unemployment insurance system.At the same time,the shortcomings and negative effects of unemployment benefits should not be ignored.