They are made to work 12 hours a day. They get a meager, or even zero, pay during their "apprenticeship" or "trial" period. Constant "recycling" of apprentices has become a favorite way of some employers to employ labor nearly free. Plus, defaulting on wage payment has become a common practice among many employers.
True, the government has taken steps to improve the situation for migrant workers and the Chinese media have given much exposure to laborers' working and living conditions. But migrant workers are still the least paid group despite having to do the toughest jobs.
The People's Daily published an article earlier this month discussing the huge disparity in the country's wealth distribution. It said workers' wages account for a miserable 10 percent of the total operational cost of an enterprise in China, while it is 50 percent in developed countries. Ours is a socialist country. How come we seem to be doing worse than capitalist countries in remunerating the working class?
Economists, sociologists and politicians may have a myriad of theories to explain the phenomenon. Economists tell us that it is normal for a capital investor or owner to take a larger share of an enterprise's profits than the workers. My question is: How large the disparity has to be before it is considered "abnormal", or will it be deemed abnormal at all?
The People's Daily also reported that laborers' pay makes up over 55 percent of the total national income in developed countries, while in China it is less than 42 percent and the rate has been falling continually. Should it not be an alarm for all of us who care about social justice and fairness?
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