The battle is on for migrant workers
By Hu Min |
February 26, 2011, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
MINHANG is suffering the pangs of a labor shortage in the manufacturing sector after the Spring Festival holiday, caused by soaring living costs and higher working demands from migrant laborers.
The district, like many parts of Shanghai, is feeling the effects of China's development thrust into interior, poorer parts of the country that offer companies cheaper labor and production costs.
As prospects for employment increase closer to their homes open up, many rural laborers are forsaking the traditional migration to richer, higher-cost coastal cities.
"The situation in Minhang's labor market is not as severe as in other districts," said Jiang Weikun, an official taking charge of the district's human resources department. "But we still suffer from a shortage of labor for more skilled positions such as operations workers, maintenance workers, plumbers and electricians."
He said the majority of migrant workers who flocked to Minhang after the Lunar New Year holiday are those returning to work, not new job seekers.
Some positions in Minhang's services sector, such as cashiers, also face a critical shortage, according to Jiang.
Among job seekers who turned up at the district's first job fair for migrant workers, Wang Wencheng, 26, said he was looking for a position paying more than his last job as an assembly-line worker earning 2,000 yuan (US$293) a month. The native of Sichuan Province said he needs higher pay because he and his wife have a newborn son and their household costs have risen.
"I hope this time I can get 3,000 yuan a month," said Wang. "Fellow villagers in my hometown and I believe that an ideal job should be paying 1,000 yuan more than we can earn at home."
He finally decided to apply for a customer service position at Suning Appliance Co, thinking that a more managerial level job would add valuable work experience to his career track.
Jiang said migrant workers typically seek wages at least 800 yuan more than they could earn staying in their hometowns.
"An increasing number of workers decide to stay in their hometown due to the accelerated development of western and central parts of China, as well as rising expenses in Shanghai," he said.
The job fair, located on Guanghua Road, has 678 positions on offer and will run 10 weeks. Ten manufacturing companies, four business-sector firms and one property management company are participating in the fair. Salaries of jobs on offer range from 1,600 yuan to 3,500 yuan a month.
A job recruiter from the Shang Shi Property Management Co. who said she had received only three applications in an hour, said her company is recruiting cleaners, security guards and monitoring staff, for salaries ranging from 1,500 yuan to 2,500 yuan.
"Many migrant workers hold higher expectation than the wages we have to offer, and they demand more in terms of food and accommodation benefits due to rising living costs," said the company recruiter, who declined to give her name.
She said she has attended many job fairs and this is the first time she has seen such lack of interest.
Jiang said Minhang companies pressed for labor are being encouraged to raise pay levels and lower hiring criteria.
The district has also set up recruitment centers in seven provinces to try to recruit laborers in their hometowns. One series of job fairs underway in Hunan Province is offering about 1,000 positions for work in Minhang.
The district, like many parts of Shanghai, is feeling the effects of China's development thrust into interior, poorer parts of the country that offer companies cheaper labor and production costs.
As prospects for employment increase closer to their homes open up, many rural laborers are forsaking the traditional migration to richer, higher-cost coastal cities.
"The situation in Minhang's labor market is not as severe as in other districts," said Jiang Weikun, an official taking charge of the district's human resources department. "But we still suffer from a shortage of labor for more skilled positions such as operations workers, maintenance workers, plumbers and electricians."
He said the majority of migrant workers who flocked to Minhang after the Lunar New Year holiday are those returning to work, not new job seekers.
Some positions in Minhang's services sector, such as cashiers, also face a critical shortage, according to Jiang.
Among job seekers who turned up at the district's first job fair for migrant workers, Wang Wencheng, 26, said he was looking for a position paying more than his last job as an assembly-line worker earning 2,000 yuan (US$293) a month. The native of Sichuan Province said he needs higher pay because he and his wife have a newborn son and their household costs have risen.
"I hope this time I can get 3,000 yuan a month," said Wang. "Fellow villagers in my hometown and I believe that an ideal job should be paying 1,000 yuan more than we can earn at home."
He finally decided to apply for a customer service position at Suning Appliance Co, thinking that a more managerial level job would add valuable work experience to his career track.
Jiang said migrant workers typically seek wages at least 800 yuan more than they could earn staying in their hometowns.
"An increasing number of workers decide to stay in their hometown due to the accelerated development of western and central parts of China, as well as rising expenses in Shanghai," he said.
The job fair, located on Guanghua Road, has 678 positions on offer and will run 10 weeks. Ten manufacturing companies, four business-sector firms and one property management company are participating in the fair. Salaries of jobs on offer range from 1,600 yuan to 3,500 yuan a month.
A job recruiter from the Shang Shi Property Management Co. who said she had received only three applications in an hour, said her company is recruiting cleaners, security guards and monitoring staff, for salaries ranging from 1,500 yuan to 2,500 yuan.
"Many migrant workers hold higher expectation than the wages we have to offer, and they demand more in terms of food and accommodation benefits due to rising living costs," said the company recruiter, who declined to give her name.
She said she has attended many job fairs and this is the first time she has seen such lack of interest.
Jiang said Minhang companies pressed for labor are being encouraged to raise pay levels and lower hiring criteria.
The district has also set up recruitment centers in seven provinces to try to recruit laborers in their hometowns. One series of job fairs underway in Hunan Province is offering about 1,000 positions for work in Minhang.
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