NYTimes: Two Sides to Labor in China

From The New York Times:

NEWS ANALYSIS: Two Sides to Labor in China

A shortage of workers is a big factor in the long shifts and workweeks that manufacturers have used to meet production quotas, all while forcing higher wages.

http://nyti.ms/GYL7TY

"But many workers also want long hours. The Fair Labor Association's survey of Foxconn workers found that 48 percent said their hours were reasonable and another 34 percent said they actually wanted even more hours. Only 18 percent said their hours were too long.

In interviews with The New York Times over the last several years, workers at other factories in southeastern China have frequently said that they wanted long hours because they were young, had little to do during free time in their factory dormitories and were eager to make as much money as quickly as possible so as to return to their home villages.

When China imposed its current laws limiting overtime four years ago, the regulations set off considerable complaints from workers and companies alike. There is a limit of three hours a day of overtime and six days of work a week. 

The minimum wage in Shenzhen, where Foxconn has the bulk of its 1.2 million employees, has gone from 635 renminbi a month in 2005 to 1,500 renminbi now.

The minimum wage in 2005 was worth about $80 a month at the exchange rate then. Today's minimum wage is worth about $240 a month."

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