Factory owners in Guangzhou are reeling from a severe shortfall
of migrant workers. Even the offer of higher pay doesn't seem to be
enough for many workers who are being lured to other provinces for
better money.
Zhang Jungang, the owner of a garment factory downtown
Guangzhou, has been desperately looking for workers in the past
couple of days.
"I've posted recruitment information around my factory and I've
even tried to look for workers at the railway stations and bus
stations where many new arrivals gather," he said. "So far, I've
recruited only three workers, far from enough for the normal
operation of my factory."
Zhang had 29 workers last year, 21 of whom decided to look for
jobs elsewhere after Spring Festival and another five had not yet
returned to work after the holiday was over on Sunday.
"I've promised to raise their monthly salaries by about 15
percent to around 1,200 yuan (US$153) from this year on and I need
no more than skilled sewers," he said. "How I wish my workers would
be back soon and introduce more workers to me; otherwise, I'll have
to recruit apprentices."
Zhang isn't the only case. Many enterprises in Guangdong, especially those in the Pearl River
Delta, have been feeling the pinch of the shortfall of migrant
workers.
"It's very likely that the problem will worsen this year," Liang
Jiamin, an official with Guangdong Provincial Labor and Social
Security Department, said.
Citing a recent survey by the provincial department, the
official said the province will have to fill about 3 million
vacancies this year, compared to more than 2.67 million in
2006.
The Pearl River Delta cities of Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Foshan and
Dongguan are all estimated to be in need of more than 300,000
workers this year each. The industries most seriously affected
include manufacturing, wholesale and retail, and catering.
"For one reason, the sustained economic development and the
prospering processing industry in Guangdong have been intensifying
the demand," Liang said. "For another, enterprises in the Yangtze
River Delta and in other places have become more generous to
workers, attracting those who have worked in Guangdong away."
The official said that the provincial labor and social security
department had urged the labor and social security authorities at
different levels across the province to hold more job fairs and to
offer job introduction services free of charge.
And enterprises have also been urged to improve the welfare and
living conditions for their workers by abiding by the minimum wage
policy, introduced in 2006, by offering better education
opportunities for workers' children and better health care.
(China Daily February 27, 2007)