Shishi, a coastal city in Fujian Province, has a population of 300,000, some 200,000 of whom are migrant workers, the predominant source of labor for the citya?s 5,000 companies. This year, however, the city has been hit by a severe shortage of workers.
Scarcely one year ago it was a totally different picture, with numerous workers competing for one job opportunity. Now, to recruit enough workers, the personnel departments of many companies have promised to pay a bounty of 100 yuan (US$12), or around 12 percent of a laborera?s monthly wage, to anyone who can poach staff for them.
According to a Agency report, since February many small and medium-size enterprises in Fujian Provincea?s coastal cities, like Fuzhou, Quanzhou,
Putian and Jinjiang, have been facing a similar shortage of workers. Both skilled and unskilled workers are in great demand, with a combined shortage of 200,000 for the region.
A survey conducted by the enterprise research agency affiliated with the Fujian Provincial Bureau of Statistics reveals that since the 2004 Spring Festival (Lunar New Year), the shortage of workers, especially skilled ones, has adversely affected the normal operation of enterprises based in Jinjiang. Only 80 to 85 percent of industrial enterprises and less than 50 percent of ceramics factories have been operating owing to the labor shortage. Fujian Provincea?s coastal cities, a gold mine for the private sector, used to absorb over 1 million migrant workers every year, 80 percent of whom were from inland provinces.
Zhejiang, another coastal province famous for its thriving private sector, has also been hit by a shortage of migrant workers since Spring Festival. The number of migrant workers in the province has declined 10 to 20 percent this year. For the first time in the past 20 years, demand for migrant laborers has exceeded supply.
The Pearl River Delta, which in the past was inundated with migrant workers, is also experiencing a severe shortage. One recent survey shows a shortfall of 2 million workers in the central cities on the Pearl River Delta, such as Guangzhou,
Shenzhen and Dongguan. Recruiting employees has now become the top priority of many local enterprises.
The prosperity of the private sector in these eastern and southern coastal cities is for most part attributed to the cheap migrant labor, and the expansion of the manufacturing-based economy has provided job opportunities for millions of surplus rural laborers. Currently, more than one-third of Chinaa?s rural laborers are working in non-agriculture industries.
According to a survey conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture, the countrya?s total number of migrant workers had reached 99 million by the end of 2003. This population has become the main body of manufacturing workers.
The salary-to-expense ratio is a major reason for the drop in migrant workers in the coastal cities. With economic development, the cost of living in these areas has climbed steadily, but migrant workers continue to earn relatively low wages.
The monthly expenses of a migrant worker in Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province, are estimated at roughly 800 yuan ($96.60), while some 70 to 80 percent of migrant workers in the city earn less than 1,000 yuan ($128.8) per month. Therefore, while working in cities, they have to eke out a frugal existence, sacrifice time with their families and travel long distances. When weighing these factors, many migrant workers choose to leave the cities.
Poor working conditions are another major factor. Despite improvements in recent years, migrant workers are still not well treated, in large part as a result of the established residents registration, social security, education and training systems.
For example, migrant workers without a local residence registration are not eligible to buy subsidized housing, and they must pay high non-resident fees in addition to their childrena?s normal tuition. Employment discrimination is another problem. Some industries refuse to hire migrant workers for preferred positions, meaning only the dirtiest and most strenuous work is available.
Under such circumstances, although migrant workers aspire to the prosperity and modernization of cities, they clearly feel they are being discriminated against. When the challenges of their circumstances overwhelm their aspirations, they leave the city for a more suitable environment.
Overall, migrant workers are becoming more and more rational in choosing their workplaces. Many now prefer to opt for stability and social security to high pay.
Factors back in their rural homes are also affecting the workers¡§¡é?decisions. The new attention the central government is giving to farmers and agricultural issues, plus the rise in the price of agricultural products from September 2003, have made farmers think twice before they leave to work in the cities. A large number of rural laborers have changed their plans, with many taking back their contracted land or planting double-crop rice instead of single.
Urban economic development has also affected the employability of migrant workers. In cities like Hangzhou, while the supply of migrant workers is diminishing and companies find it increasingly hard to recruit workers, there are still a large number of migrant workers who cannot find jobs. This mainly stems from the gap between their skills and education and the needs of employers.
One survey shows that 75 percent of migrant workers in Zhejiang have received only primary education and very few have received professional training. In the job market, however, most enterprises only recruit workers with a junior middle school education or above, and around 80 percent of enterprises require employees to be skilled. The current shortage of migrant workers is one of technical and skilled workers.
A sociologist pointed out that the shortage of migrant workers in essence reflects migrant workers¡§¡é?disappointment with the employment environment, which includes both enterprises and the governments. Thus, local governments have to reconsider their administration model and traditional development concept.
The sociologist also believes that a severe social crisis looms in the cities where local enterprises and governments treat migrant workers as tools of production and fail to create a sound environment for their well-being and self-improvement. He said the current shortage of migrant workers resulting from this dilemma is only the tip of the iceberg.
He asserts that to address the problem, local governments should take firm steps to implement a people-oriented approach, reconsider and revise existing policies, and take initiatives to solve practical difficulties for migrant workers.
