As workers' consciousness of their rights increases, they are gradually more and more apt to appeal grievances to the courts: from 1995 to 2001, adjudicated labor disputes rose from 28,000 to 101,000. Offering workers legal redress has turned their attention temporarily from the streets to mediation and may well have reduced the number of street demonstrations.
实际上，中央政府在2004年共划拨779亿元巨款用于下岗工人和贫困人口，各级地方政府也同时加大了拨款力度。但悲哀的是可能只有约四分之一的下岗工人曾得到过任何有实际意义的帮助。而对于那些成千上万未能受惠的工人，这项政策已将他们的不满掐灭在萌芽状态。