Iron rice bowl

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[edit] Origin of Term

"Iron rice bowl" (Simplified Chinese: 铁饭碗; Traditional Chinese: 鐵飯碗; pinyin: tiě fàn wǎn) is a Chinese term used to refer to an occupation with guaranteed job security, as well as steady income and benefits. Traditionally, people considered to have iron rice bowls include military personnel, members of the civil service, as well as employees of various state run enterprises (through the mechanism of the Work unit).

Recent moves at cutting benefits and privatization of various state run businesses in Taiwan such as the Taiwan Railway Administration and China Airlines have led many in those industries to believe that their iron rice bowls are in jeopardy, and has led to strikes (and threats thereof), as well as being the subject of much political debate.

When Deng Xiaoping began his labor reforms in the People's Republic of China in the 1980s, the government iron rice bowl jobs were some of the first to go. Almost overnight, fully one third of China's workforce was unemployed.^{[citation needed]} A large majority of these people became migratory workers, moving from job to job in great masses. Factory and construction work were, and continue to be, standard employment. The effects of this change are still felt today in modern China.

[edit] Other Uses

In Western Society, the term enjoys similar usage. It has been popularized by Richard Lindzen in reference to Government funded scientists and labs that use their research results to justify continued government funding. Lindzen's thesis is that the intrinsic link between reporting and funding provides incentives to report research results in such a way as to ensure continued funding.