Working on Yangtze River no longer popular
Print Edition
NAVIGATING the Yangtze River was once considered an appealing career for adventurous young mariners, offering a chance to travel one of the world’s largest commercial waterways while seeing China.
Now, it’s the “worst choice” for young job-seekers, with uncompetitive wages, long hours and hard work, said Chen Shaoyuan, captain of the Yangtze river cargo boat “An Xiang.”
“I love ships. I have been working as a crew member for more than 20 years. I have got used to this dreary life,” Chen said, explaining why he has not quit the job despite the low pay as he pokes at a frugal lunch of rice and boiled radish.
Besides sailing the boat, Chen also cooks for himself and three other crew members, as well as help unload cargo. They go ashore once a week and the only entertainment they have on the river is their radio.
“A crew member gets 2,000 yuan (US$325) to 3,000 yuan a month and eats meat only once or twice a week. Young people won’t come if they have any other options,” Chen said.
The undesirable nature of the job, resulting in a shortage of river workers, presents a grave challenge for China’s ambition to develop a new economic belt along the Yangtze.
A State Council guideline released in September set enhancing the traffic capacity of the river, one of the busiest inland rivers for freight traffic worldwide, as a priority.
With the government vigorously pushing forward development along the river, shipments in the Yangtze’s upper and middle areas are expected to surge over the next few years, said He Shengping, the president of the shipping exchange of Chongqing, one of the most important shipping centers in the upper reaches of the river.
“The labor shortage will become more acute by then.”
In recent years, China’s shipping industry yields have seen decline due to pressure from the country’s economic slowdown and excess capacity in the market. Stagnant growth has made most companies reluctant to offer competitive wages.
In Chongqing, an auto mechanic can earn as much as 6,000 yuan a month, nearly doubling that of a ship maintenance worker.
A survey conducted by He’s exchange showed in 2013, 63 percent of shipping companies in Chongqing said a lack of ship workers was major barrier for expanding operations.
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