The myth of an unlimited labor force has been shattered. A question mark rises: "lack of labor" this spell why on the shoe factory? Dongguan has always been a tide of migrant workers, why there will be a shortage of labor across the industry? Where have the workers gone? Accounting for more than 1/10 of the world's production of Dongguan shoes, and where to go?
Shoe factory "to how many to how many"
"To how many, to how many." Houjie Chen house, Xing x shoe factory guard half raised his head, expressionless spit out 6 words.
"Raw hands also want?"
"Yes, all of them."
From the southern city of Shigu along the highway cut into Houjie town, Chiling, Chenya, Santun, Shanmei, Qiaotou ...... until near Humen Baihao, industrial zones are next to each other, the district of shoe factories stand. Houjie's shoe industry is the most concentrated in Dongguan. Dongguan's shoe industry is the most concentrated in Dongguan, and the "manufacturing city" of Dongguan is quite famous in the world. Dongguan's annual production of about 1 billion pairs of shoes, accounting for more than 1/10 of the world's Nike, adidas and other world-famous shoes produced in Dongguan. "Dongguan traffic jam, global shortage."
"Molding (that is, the upper, sole and other parts of the assembly for the finished shoe) of the 2 production lines, now can only open 1. One line needs more than 80 people, but the molding side alone is short of more than 100 people. Other departments are also short of people, orders may not be able to catch up." Houjie a shoe factory head Mr. Huang told reporters without worry.
So Mr. Huang posted a recruitment notice on the side of the main door with a big red paper. "Shoe factories recruit mostly with this trick. You go to the Chen Yu, Santun area walk, now the shoe factory are recruiting, each factory door can see the recruitment notice."
The reporter visited Chiling, Chan-ya, San-tun and other industrial areas, the situation is consistent with what Mr. Huang said.
As long as it is a shoe factory, there must be a recruitment notice at the door, or prop up a wooden board pasted on it, or pasted in the window.
In Chiling, a shoe factory simply made two plastic signs, one written "the factory long-term recruitment of workers", the other is nailed to the wall of the janitor's office, written "recruitment counseling office". Two plastic signs have been mottled, visible lack of labor is not a "sudden event", and the enterprise is also ready to "fight a long war" ready.
The janitor's office has become a "recruiting and counseling office", and the janitor is not just a security guard, but also a human resources manager of the shoe factory. The reporter asked the guards to consult how many people need, many of the guards of the answer is surprisingly consistent: "how many to how many."
Small and large shoe factories are short of workers
"Houjie many shoe factories are short of half of the workforce, and some even closed down as a result." Ah Jun (a pseudonym)
In Dongguan shoe factories for more than 3 years, in nearly 10 shoe factories as a worker, currently in Chenya a shoe factory as a middle-level cadres.
He pointed to a nearby shoe factory in Parkview: "It wasn't this factory a month ago. They couldn't recruit anyone for a long time, couldn't start work, and closed down overnight. After Park x took over, it's still hiring every day."
Arjun told reporters that Dongguan shoe factories are generally short of labor, just how much of a problem. Small and medium-sized shoe factories have serious labor shortages, while large shoe factories are better.
How big is the "big shoe factory" that Ah Jun described? When the manufacturing industry in Hong Kong and Taiwan moved to the Pearl River Delta, many Hong Kong and Taiwanese businessmen invested in shoe factories in Dongguan. For example, in 1988, Taiwan's Baocheng International Group invested in Dongguan Yuyuan Shoes Company, is currently Dongguan's largest footwear base in GaoShu, HuangJiang has two industrial parks, the main production of Nike, adidas, etc., the staff of 100,000 people. 1990, Taiwan's HingAng Group invested in Dongguan Chang'an set up HingAng Shoes Factory, the main production of GUESS, LV, Nike, etc., the brand, the staff of tens of thousands. In 1996, Hong Kong Huajian Group moved Huabao Shoes to Houjie, Dongguan, mainly producing American famous brand NINE & WEST, with more than 10,000 employees.
These shoe factories have a special car, television stations, food streets, supermarkets, movie theaters, kindergartens, factory facilities, just like a "small society". They are short of workers?
"From doing recruitment, I have been in a state of tension, every day there is a busy thing." Mr. Liu, who is responsible for recruiting for Huabao Shoes, mentioned recruiting with emotion and confessed that people are very difficult to recruit, facing the target is very stressful. "We are going to build a new factory in June and intend to recruit another 6,000 people, but I guess it's not enough."
In Houjie Chiling, the reporter stumbled upon the Xing'ang recruitment notice, clearly printed "recruiting ordinary workers 1000". In addition to "18-35 years old, junior high school or above", no other requirements, and "welcome bulk labor".
Dongguan's largest shoe factory, Yuyuan, the lack of labor is equally surprising. "Yuyuan is our regular customer, it comes every week, and they recruit a total of about 30,000 workers." Aobin, manager of the Recruitment Services Division of the Wisdom Talent Market, said that of all the industries, the one with the greatest shortage is the footwear industry, with an average of roughly 1/3 of the workforce missing.
Mr. Liu of Huabao, Manager Ao of Zhitong, and Ajun, an old worker of the shoe factory, all said that the shortage of civilian labor has spread to the entire shoe industry, whether it is the face, bottom, molding, quality control and other ordinary workers, or designers and other senior technicians, as well as middle and senior managers, the shortage is in the minority. The myth of the unlimited number of private workers has been completely shattered, and the status quo of the industry-wide shortage of workers has come to the fore.
The footwear industry's own characteristics exacerbate the shortage of workers
Yang Dongru, deputy director of the Municipal Bureau of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, pointed out that in recent years, Dongguan does have a labor shortage. According to incomplete statistics, there is a shortage of roughly 300,000 laborers. "We think this labor shortage is a structural shortage. The shortage is of ordinary workers in industries such as shoe-making, garment-making, and woolen knitting, where labor intensity is relatively high and the working environment is relatively poor. And the shortage of labor is not obvious in those industries with good employee benefits, good working environment and a certain scale."
Sincerely, as Yang Dongru said, the footwear industry is a labor-intensive industry, but Dongguan labor-intensive industries are not a few, Zhitong people called "all the industries, the most shortage of people is the footwear industry" and why?
"Shoe factories have lower requirements for workers, and the income is naturally low. For example, electronic factories now generally require middle school or high school graduates, shoe factories generally do not require." Wisdom of the job market sources said.
Long Xiaojie, deputy secretary-general of the U.S.-China Garment and Footwear Association, said that precisely because shoe workers are treated less favorably than in other industries, the footwear industry has thus become the one in which workers are most likely to experience turnover. When they can't do it anymore, they are more likely to jump ship to other factories to increase their value, or switch to other industries.
In addition, shoe factories are more intensive than the usual labor-intensive industries.
"A line in an electronics factory may be enough for one person, and a line in a shoe factory is at least nearly 100 people, or even several hundred people. Ordinary workers a more, grass-roots management personnel naturally have to be more with some, such as the team leader of this type of people." Houjie a shoe factory head told reporters.
Entering May, idle equipment into use, the demand for labor is greater, the lack of workers in the footwear industry can not hide exposed. According to Long Xiaojie, generally from March to April, is the off-season of the shoe industry.
The weather turns hot in May, and shoe products are also rapidly updated, and orders from shoe factories increase, entering the peak season of production. This peak season usually lasts until October.
■ Links
Overview of Dongguan's footwear industry
Dongguan currently produces about 1 billion pairs of shoes annually, accounting for more than 1/10 of global shoe production. The densest concentration of shoe factories in Dongguan is in Houjie Town.
Dongguan's shoe industry is dominated by processing trade, with many small and medium-sized enterprises and a lack of independent brands. However, many famous shoe brands in the world, such as Nike and adidas, are mostly produced in Dongguan, and Yuyuan, Huabao, and Xingang are some of the larger shoe manufacturers in Dongguan. Dongguan shoe enterprises are not lacking in technology, but they lag far behind Wenzhou and other cities in the Yangtze River Delta in terms of independent brand building.
At present, many shoe factories have moved to the mainland or Southeast Asia due to international trade friction and lack of labor in Dongguan. The elimination of Dongguan's shoe industry is just in time.
Reflection
Why is there a lack of labor in Dongguan shoe factories?
Workers work overtime until 11:00 p.m. or their freedom is restricted, and the factory gates have been turned into the "Berlin Wall". A cadre is dug out, and the cadre takes away a group of men, which is a unique mode of recruitment for shoe factories.
The treatment is too poor workers "out"
Strong daylight, a young man in Houjie a shoe factory door wandering, single. Short flat head, white shirt tied into black pants, a bitter face. The reporter encountered this young man called A Jian, Guizhou people, in Guangzhou played a few years of labor, only to turn to Dongguan to find work.
"I've been running for a few days, and I've been recruited everywhere here, but the requirements are too harsh." A Jian said. Reporters to find a job together as the reason, accompanied by Kin walked several shoe factory. Until the farewell, he still had not found a satisfactory job. The reporter even encountered "discrimination". A shoe factory gatekeeper refused: "You can not do." Then he stopped talking.
Why "can't do it"? The old worker Ajun laughed and said: "You really can't do it. Dongguan shoe factories generally work overtime until very late at night, and there is not much time to rest in a day. There are not a few days off all year round, May Day released 3 days, has been an unprecedented."
Houjie Xing x shoe factory guard also unapologetically told reporters, Xing x shoe factory generally have to work overtime to more than 11:00 p.m., a year without a few days off. The reporter also learned that some shoe factories do not even open the air conditioning in high summer. The phenomenon of workers being restricted freedom is also quite a lot, the factory gate into the "Berlin Wall".
How much can you earn in a month with this kind of hard work? "It's usually 700 to 900 yuan, and it's only a little more than 1,000 yuan if you work your butt off." Ah Jun is envious of big factories, "Big factories have high wages and good benefits."
How high is the treatment in big factories? Huabao shoes responsible for recruiting Mr. Liu told reporters, in fact, Dongguan shoe factory salary difference is not big, Huabao official general workers are generally about 1,000 yuan. Yuyuan, on the other hand, offered about 1,200 yuan.
If Ajian is the representative of migrant workers in the 1990s, Hong from Hunan is a new migrant worker in the 21st century. Though her hair is a bit messy, she wears earrings and has bought a beautiful cell phone. "My sister worked in a Dongguan shoe factory 10 years ago and her salary was close to 1,000 yuan, and it still hasn't gone up much. I wish for more pay and more time off. Every girl wants to dress up and wants to have time to go shopping." Hong said many of her sisters in their factory couldn't stand the working environment and were forced to leave.
"I personally encourage them to go." Feng Xiaoyun, a professor at Jinan University's School of Economics, spoke out. Prof. Feng told reporters that she did research in Dongguan last year and found that the working and living environment in Dongguan shoe factories was very bad. "They can't afford it anymore, and it's only a matter of time before they leave. This also shows that workers' consciousness is gradually awakening, which should be said to be a good phenomenon."
Mutual digging has become a regular pattern
Where are shoe workers being pushed to? "Shoe workers are generally mobile within the industry. There's a strange phenomenon in this industry: when they leave, they leave a batch. One of our vice presidents went to Wanjiang and took dozens of people at once. A team leader jumped ship and went to Shenzhen, and took all his men with him. Two days earlier we recruited a new team leader, he brought twenty or thirty people." Houjie a shoe factory head said.
"One day at a time." Ah Jun described it this way.
He attributed it to the backwardness of the management model. "There is no standardized management model for shoe factories. It is said that an enterprise should have a management model that remains the same no matter who is gone. But the management of a shoe factory is basically up to the upper level of leadership, and when you change the person, the management model follows."
Arjun said, for example, that their factory was originally separate from the quality inspection (responsible for quality inspection) and the field (assembly line processing). When the leader of QC jumped ship, the field leader immediately took the QC over.
"If QC is under the field's control, where else can the field be supervised?" In the case of an uncertain management model, the one thing everyone can rely on is interpersonal relationships. With whom for a long time, we have mutual cooperation, to go together.
In fact, this kind of following is not just because of the feelings formed at work. "Shoe factory wages and salaries are basically their supervisor said, so long everyone identified him." Zhitong talent market Ao manager to the reporter to analyze the interests behind.
So, the shoe factory recruiting "characteristics" model also came into being, digging a cadre, cadres to bring a group of men, the shoe factory has become the most effective method of recruitment. "Generally pull a person over, there are 50-100 yuan reward." Ah Jun said.
This "specialty" has spread to big businesses. Mr. Liu of Huabao Shoes said it is hard to recruit people in the labor market, and it is also very unstable. So they are mainly mobilized internal staff introduction, parents pull children over, boyfriend pull girlfriend over. There is no monetary reward, but the company will give some administrative incentives.
Where have the civilian workers gone?
A shoe factory migration is quietly to the mainland, earlier Dongguan closed down some shoe factories, Wenzhou boss immediately drove over, the whole car to pull people over. And many shoe factories in Dongguan are still unaware.
Shoe factories with migrant workers to the mainland
Those who have flocked to the migrant workers like waves, now where have they gone?
"A lot of people don't want to come out now. I know some workers from Hunan and Jiangxi, and many of them go home to grow cash crops and run small businesses, which also meet their livelihood needs. If they want to work part-time, they will also choose cities close to their homes." Manager Ao of Wisdom Talent Market said.
Ajun also wants to go home, where he finds life more peaceful. "A few days ago, two of our female colleagues were robbed of their cell phones right next to the factory. There are too many of these things."
It's true that Dongguan has seen rapid economic development over the years, but workers' wages have risen very little and working conditions have not improved much. Combined with social security and other problems, Dongguan has broken the hearts of many wage earners.
But the mainland is only growing faster. State support for the three rural areas has left farmers largely unburdened. Many migrant workers who came to Dongguan with dreams of starting their own businesses went back with tattered dreams.
"Especially with the current nationwide construction of new rural areas, it's only human for wage earners to have some savings in Dongguan or to find new jobs in their hometowns, and it's only natural that they won't come back." Feng Xiaoyun, an economics professor at Jinan University, said.
A major migration of shoe factories is quietly underway, and the destination is none other than Hunan and Jiangxi, which have the richest resources for migrant workers. According to the Houjie branch of the Taiwan Businessmen's Association, Dongguan labor shortage, the cost of recruiting workers has overwhelmed many enterprises, so shoe factories have moved to Hunan, Jiangxi and other places. Yang Dongru, deputy director of the city's Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation Bureau, said the relocation of shoe factories to areas with cheaper and more abundant labor can ensure that enterprises can survive and maintain their cost advantage.
In this great migration, Yuyuan and Huabao have become the vanguard, both of whom have built huge new industrial parks in Jiangxi and are constantly recruiting.
The Yangtze River Delta makes the talent market afraid
If the mainland cities are just taking over Dongguan's industrial transfer to make room for Dongguan's industrial upgrading, another rising rival should not be underestimated. This is the Yangtze River Delta.
"The Yangtze River Delta is developing fast, and the only thing they lack is people. Dongguan has been developing for a long time, and has cultivated a lot of suitable people, so they are trying to do everything they can to come over and dig. Let's say a vice president, Dongguan offer 100,000, they are willing to open 300,000, but the additional condition is: pull your side of the people over." Wisdom of the talent market recruitment services division manager Ao Bin said.
Aobin said that for a long time, Dongguan bosses thought that people are good to recruit, treatment and other aspects are not important. Now the Yangtze River Delta has become a strong rival. The Yangtze River Delta wages and the Pearl River Delta is almost the same, but the welfare benefits than the Pearl River Delta is much better, for example, many shoe factories in Dongguan do not even social security for employees, which is almost non-existent in the Yangtze River Delta. "Now people are really short of, Wisdom has the obligation to retain talent for Dongguan. In fact, we all try to avoid the Yangtze River Delta customers to recruit here, as long as the Yangtze River Delta to come, we generally do not talk to him."
Long Xiaojie, deputy secretary-general of the U.S.-China Clothing and Footwear Association, said the Yangtze River Delta bosses are generally more aware. This is not only reflected in the treatment of employees, but also in the construction of independent brands. For example, Wenzhou has famous shoe brands such as Aokang, independent brand-name shoes are much more than Dongguan. Dongguan enterprises to do processing trade profits are very small, while the Yangtze River Delta enterprises to do their own brand can have a greater profit margin, the treatment of employees to improve the greater space.
Long Xiaojie also used a small detail to illustrate the difference in awareness between the two bosses. "Earlier Dongguan closed down some shoe factories, Wenzhou boss immediately drove over, the whole car to pull people over. And many shoe factories in Dongguan are still unaware."
■ Related surveys
Pearl River Delta workers' survival is inferior to the Yangtze River Delta
Sun Yat-sen University, a group of researchers after a special study, has recently released the "Comparative Study of Migrant Workers in the Pearl River Delta and the Yangtze River Delta Survey Report", which concluded that the survival of the Pearl River Delta migrant workers is not as good as that of the Yangtze River Delta. The comparison items are listed as follows:
Comparison Items Yangtze River Delta Pearl River Delta
Time spent looking for the first job 21 days 29.7 days
Average cost of looking for a job 353 yuan 370 yuan
Average working hours 9.01 hours 9.86 hours
Average monthly wage Yangtze River Delta is higher than that of the Pearl River Delta 265.66 yuan
Hourly overtime pay The Yangtze River Delta is higher than the Pearl River Delta by $1.96
Limited meal breaks 52.90% 51.40%
Can't apply for a job due to hukou 19.90% 31.30%
Feeling discriminated against 10.40% 18.90%
The takeaway
A shortage of labor a good thing? Bad?
Improving treatment brings workers back to Dongguan
The labor shortage has brought bouts of severe pain. A large number of shoe factories are not enough work, some small and medium-sized shoe factories closed down as a result, and large shoe factories went elsewhere. How to get the workers back to Dongguan?
Yang Dongru, deputy director of the Municipal Bureau of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, pointed out that in order to solve the shortage of migrant workers in Dongguan, it is necessary to directly improve the employment environment of enterprises, and guide enterprises to improve the salary and benefits, and enhance the attractiveness of Dongguan enterprises to foreign workers. On the other hand, to combine the construction of "harmonious Dongguan" goal, enhance the social and humanistic environment and affinity of Dongguan.
Putting aside the urban environment, workers are most looking forward to the improvement of treatment. As the relevant person in charge of the Houjie branch of the Taiwan Business Association said, "If the shoe factory does not improve the treatment of workers from the clothing, food, housing and transportation, if you want to momentarily recruit a lot of people, the possibility is not very large."
Does the Dongguan boss realize this? Mr. Liu of Huabao Shoes said that all the upper-grade shoe factories in Dongguan are now improving labor conditions and treatment. "Huabao has a movie theater, couple's room, Hunan restaurant, Sichuan restaurant, kindergarten and so on, but it's still not attractive to workers. Now we can only spell corporate culture."
But a question seems to have been overlooked: how much room is there to improve the treatment of Dongguan shoe factories that have long earned cheap processing fees? It is understood that the current average net profit of Dongguan shoe industry is about 5-8%. And the pressure of the appreciation of the yuan, as well as the European Union on Chinese shoes began to impose high anti-dumping duties, some people estimate that the profits of the relevant shoe factory will be completely engulfed, it is difficult to protect themselves, not to mention improving the treatment of workers. "Jockeying for position again on worker treatment will overwhelm many enterprises." Taiwan Business Association Houjie branch of the relevant person said that the migration of shoe enterprises to the mainland is a side example.
Lack of labor forces away the "chicken rib" industry
"A large number of shoe factories are short of workers, which is a good thing for the government and enterprises." Prof. Feng of Jinan University once again spoke out. She suggested that the Dongguan government encourage "people to move up the ladder".
Dongguan is a typical exogenous economy with many labor-intensive enterprises. "The massive labor shortage in the shoe factories has forced the government and enterprises to think: how can we develop in the long run if the industry is not upgraded, the economy is not transformed, and we are walking in place?"
In fact, the lack of labor is not only cleaning up some weak enterprises, but also gradually forcing the "chicken rib" industry to migrate. Signs of the footwear industry's shift to the mainland are becoming apparent. After such industrial upgrading, Dongguan's urban economic positioning is expected to quietly change.
Some of the first signs are already visible. As Yang Dongru, deputy director of the Bureau of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, said, the relocation of Hong Kong and Taiwan shoe factories, all relocated relatively few, many of which are not uprooted from their bases in Dongguan, but set up sub-factories over there for primary processing or production of low-value-added shoe products. Dongguan factories carried out deep processing of shoes, producing high value-added and high-tech shoe products. In this way, Dongguan's shoe industry has been quietly upgraded.
And in the long run, another trend can be expected: under the general trend of labor shortage, Dongguan has the potential to develop into a trade distribution center by taking advantage of its location. Labor-intensive industries will be relocated to the mainland, and Dongguan will leave a number of corporate offices and so on, becoming a window city for foreign trade.